Zero Flip
by animaniacj
Summary: There are many ways Louise and Saito can meet, so here's a twist to it. RxR what you think.
1. Saito's Point

**Saito's Point:**

"Are you sure you're not going to screw up again?" Guiche teased. "I mean, we wouldn't want you to blow up your own familiar the second it showed up."

"Oh come on," I complained, "I only blew up the desk, not the entire room."

"This time." Malicorne kept taunting, "Last week you blew up the tree you were supposed to make grow fruit."

"Fine, I'm not any good with earth magic, are you two happy?" I said, trying to get off the subject. Unfortunately, this only added fuel to the flame.

"Are you sure it's only earth magic? Remember that time we were supposed to make it rain over the flowerbeds? You ended up burning the flowers down with lightning!" Guiche reminded me.

"Or when we got to practice with fire magic, don't forget that he barely got a spark." Malicorne added.

"And then there was the time we had to assist the birds with the air current. The girls will never forgive you for that!" Guiche ended with both him and Malicorne laughing. I was bright red from rage, I could feel it.

"I'll show you two! I'll summon the most terrifying thing to ever have roamed Halkeginia! You two won't be laughing after I get it to listen to only me!" In all honesty, I didn't even know what I was saying anymore, it was all just rolling out. So before I could dig myself a deeper grave, I ran back to my room. How were those two my best friends again?

"We'll see you tomorrow at the summoning field then!" Guiche called after me.

"Saito the Zero!"

…

GAH! They were right! I wasn't skilled in any of the four elements. Every time I tried to make something, anything, work, it blew up right in my face. And the times I was supposed to be destructive, it petered out on me. It was infuriating!

Me, Saito Hiraga, third child of the Noble Hiraga Family, known for excellent warriors and mages, unable to be proficient at either. My older brother, Shin, had chosen to be of service to the crown, and was now a lead general of the army. My sister, Katra, had shown proficiency in fire, water, and earth magic, so she decided to dedicate her time to master air magic, on the side attending to any medical emergencies of nobles and commoners alike.

This was my second year here at the academy, but even this year was tentative. If I didn't show my parents any progress by the time this semester was over, my time here, and probably as a Hiraga, would be over.

I fretted all night over how my own incantation for the best familiar to be summoned would come forth from, but I couldn't decide. None of the things I tried in my head sounded right. Finally, I just gave up and threw myself into bed and fell asleep.

…

The next morning wasn't any better than last night. We were all supposed to have our summons done by noon so we could break for lunch. Many in my year got to the field and got it done right off the bat. Guiche summoned up a mole, and immediately fell in love with it. Malicorne summoned a decent looking owl, and given both of their rotund bodies, would make great friends. Heck, Tabitha, who never talked to anyone was able to summon a dragon. The Germanian Kirche Zerbst got a huge fire salamander for her efforts, and for the life of me, I wasn't surprised. Everyone was about done, except for me.

"All right, is everyone done with their summoning?" Mr. Colbert asked when creatures stopped popping up from everywhere.

"This guy still hasn't even attempted his summoning!" Guiche announced, throwing his arm around me.

"So _that's_ why there isn't a crater in the middle of the field yet." Kirche said as she was playing with her salamander. This got everyone to start laughing at me.

"Shut up! I just wanted everyone to see what I summoned!" I said with more confidence than I was feeling. Everyone quieted down as I got into position for my summoning, and I had no idea what I was going to say, so I winged it.

"_**Oh forces of the stars, grant upon this humble servant the familiar that shall help guide him upon his path of life. So be said by Saito Hiraga!"**_ I finished, and nothing happened. All was silent for a good five minutes. I sunk to my knees, this was it, this was the universe saying that I didn't belong here. Tears of rage started swelling in my eyes.

"Hey, Saito," Guiche said starting to step toward me, "this isn't the end of the world, maybe you can…"

But I wasn't listening anymore. My rage had built to a climax and I finally stabbed my wand into the soft ground.

That did it. As soon as my wand had sunk all the way down to the hilt, a circle with the five pointed star of magic transcribed within it sprang from it with the top point spreading from my wand. There was a loud whistling as a whirlwind built up inside the circle, and then the inevitable explosion happened.

I got a face full of smoke, but didn't move because I still held tightly onto my wand. After I had hacked enough smoke out of my face, I drew my wand out of the ground and tried to peer through the dense smoke to see what I had just summoned.

Or should I say _who_ I summoned. I heard a small girl's coughing in front of me. She had to be what I had summoned, because the rest of the girls from my class were all behind me. I walked cautiously over to where I heard the coughing and found a small, pink haired girl in a weird sort of blue shirt that had a hood and long, slender sleeves. She was also wearing a black skirt that came down to her knees, while wearing some sort of shoe that I had never seen before.

Before I could ask her her name, she opened her eyes, and I stopped right where I was. Her eyes were just as pink as her hair, but that wasn't why I stopped. The expression they gave, gave me a sense of fear, anger, and pride, all at the same time. And it was all directed at me.

"H-Hi, my name's Saito Hiraga, what would yours be?" I asked as I approached her.

She looked a bit confused, but then said "Louise Vallere."

"Well, that is a very nice, and might I add beautiful name. But I am afraid I must apologize for what I am about to do." I said, and before Louise could react, I swooped in and kissed her.

I didn't think the first human I was going to kiss would be one I summoned, but there I was. Unfortunately, the smoke decided to clear away just then, showing me kissing a strange girl. I heard wolf whistles from many of the guys, and feel the searing heat of anger from the women. Or was it?

I pulled away from Louise and placed my hand on her head, she was burning up! Not only that, she seemed to be in pain. I then realized that she was gripping at her left hand, where a light was shining out of it. It was all over in a matter of seconds, but it must have really hurt, because by the time it was over, she slumped unconscious into me.

"Well I'll be," Guiche finally said, "Saito, the guy who couldn't perform a single spell correctly, summoned a cute girl as a familiar, way to go buddy!"

"Not now Guiche." I said, still preoccupied with the unconscious girl before me. She was so small compared to me, about a head and a half, she felt so light to lift. I saw a maid hurrying by with a basket of sheets, so I called out for her to come over. As she came over to me, I inquired "Can you bring a cot to my room please? It's in the leftmost tower, fourth floor, last door on the left."

"Of course sir, I'll bring it as soon as I can." She said as she was returning to the basket.

"Thank you Miss, um…"

"Siesta sir."

"Thank you very much Miss Siesta."

"What do you need a cot for?" Guiche asked as I started to head to my room.

"Isn't it obvious? I'm not going to let a woman sleep on a bed of hay, that would just be inhuman. No, she's taking the bed."


	2. Wrong Twirl

**Start on the Wrong Twirl:**

I got to my room without any trouble; seeing as anyone who would comment on my situation backed off with the scowl I was wearing. A girl! Of all the familiars I could have summoned, I had to summon a human girl. Heck, it would have been awkward, but a male would have been of so much more use. At least he would have made a decent meat shield while I failed at being a mage, but never mind. Louise was here now and I had to take care of her.

As I came into my room; I placed her down on the bed, and decided to sit across from her in the chair. I didn't want to be creepy, but all there was to do was sit there and wait for her to wake up. While I was waiting, a knock came at the door.

"It's open." I called back.

"I can't actually open the door sir. My hands are a bit full." Siesta's voice came through the door. So I got up and opened the door, and she was right, she really did have her hands full dealing with that cot. I took it off her hands and laid it next to the bed. Apparently Siesta had anticipated that it would be used for me, because it was impractically big for Louise.

"How is the poor dear doing sir?" Siesta asked as she was still at the door.

"Her name's Louise, and she seems to be doing fine right now." I answered.

"Well, ok. If that's all sir, I'll be off to my chores."

"Wait Siesta, why don't you stay for a while to help me look after her. I really haven't looked after someone before. And please, call me Saito. Just Saito." I added, there had been far to many times when I asked for just my first name and people insisted on adding mister or sir.

"I would be honored to Mist- Saito." She caught herself, and came in. "So how is your familiar doing? She didn't seem to be all that well after the summoning. Have you even given her a name yet?"

"Actually, she told me her name before she collapsed, her name is Louise Vallière."

"Such a pretty name, but what should we do? She doesn't seem to be doing all that well." Siesta noted.

"And that is exactly why I asked you to stay. I have never cared for a person before, and I thought you might be able to help a little bit."

"Well, um, to start with, did she have a fever?"

"A what?" I asked, I had been studying Louise a bit closer, thus spacing out a bit.

"A hot head Saito."

"Ah, yes, yes she did."

"Well then, we need to cool her a bit. I'll go get a bowl and towel." Siesta said as she got up and left.

I didn't actually know if she still had her fever, so I got up to check on that. As I got over her to check, however, she started to wake up. I gently smiled, "Well good morning sleepy head, have a nice nap?"

I don't think she quite heard me though, because she immediately blushed and got off the bed away from me as fast as she possibly could. Then I noticed a problem. She started ranting at me in _French_. I had thought that language had died. We didn't even study it here anymore.

But Founder she was getting yappy. I might be a failure of a mage, but a simple silence spell shouldn't be any problem. I took out my wand and pointed it at her. She stopped talking and just looked at the wand. "Quies" was all I said, and lucky me, nothing blew up. Maybe I was getting better at this.

"And what exactly was that supposed to do?" Louise asked.

"It's supposed to make you be quiet until I figure out how to understand you, Louise."

"I think you might want to check on that."

"What are you talking abou…" I then realized I was having a straight conversation with Louise. But how did that work? I was sure I had casted the right symbol and said it correctly. I groaned and sat back down in the chair. I had gotten something else wrong, _again_. I was never going to hear the end of it from Katra.

Louise had at least become less scared of me enough to sit across from me on the bed. "So, what is this place that you've obviously kidnapped me to? I will have you know that my parent's will pay any amount of money to get me back."

"Well, I don't know where I summoned you from, but right now you're in the Tristain Magic Academy for Nobles. And it doesn't matter how much money your parent's have, there is no ransom to pay."

"Fine then, I'll just pay you enough for a ride home. I don't know what trick you used to knock me unconscious, but magic is just silly."

"Is it really? Did you understand me at all until I used my 'silence' spell? And like I said, you can't pay me to send you back. I summoned you here to be my familiar until one or both of us die."

She was obviously getting angry at this roundabout argument as I was, because she was turning a deep red. Luckily Siesta decided to come back with the water and cloth. Well, if I was going to have a strange girl, I might as well not have her be a stranger.

"Siesta, Louise is fine right now. Louise, this is Siesta, she's a maid who works here at the academy. She can also vouch that I did not kidnap you from anywhere on purpose." I explained/introduced.

"I highly doubt that, she can just be your _personal_ maid being paid to do whatever you tell her to do." Louise humphed as she crossed her arms and looked away. I turned back to Siesta to apologize for my familiar's behavior, but she had already flushed a deep red in anger.

"I-I-I'll just be g-going then." Siesta said in a stutter and quickly made an exit. Weird enough though was that she didn't sound angry, but something else rather. I just couldn't place my finger on it.

I turned back to Louise, "Look, I can tell that you don't believe me, so here's the deal. I take you outside to prove to you that you aren't anywhere near where you think you are, and you don't act like a stuck up princess. Deal?"

"If it get's me out of this stuffy room, I guess I can't complain. Fine, 'convince' away."

"Great!" I was finally getting somewhere with her. "If you wouldn't mind following me, I'll show you around." I said, getting up to the door, I could feel Louise still sitting on the bed. "Well come on, I can't give you a tour while you're sitting there."

"Aren't you forgetting something?" She said as she held out her hand. Oh come on, she wasn't the princess; I didn't have to indulge her. But then a thought popped into my head. I walked back over to her and lightly pulled her to her feet.

"Thank you, you may continue now."

"Oh can I? Well, if you insist." And at that, I picked her right off of her feet and held her across my arms. She shrieked and started pounding me on the shoulder. "What in the world do you think you're doing?"

"Well, if you're going to act like such a princess, I might as well carry you like one as well."

"You idiot! I am perfectly capable of walking!"

"Are you sure? You seemed incapable of even standing not ten seconds ago."

"Ugh! You're intolerable."

"And so are you. Now, will you please act like a normal person?"

"I guess." She mumbled.

I did one twirl with her still in my arms; she gave another terrified shriek. "What was that? I didn't quite hear you."

"I said yes, now put me down!"

"As you wish, princess." Finally putting Louise down, I proceeded back to the door. "Are we ready this time?"

Her only answer was pushing past me.


	3. The Room and Back

**From the Room and Back:**

It was lucky that there was only one path to and from the dorm rooms; otherwise I could have sworn Louise would have gotten lost. The unfortunate part of there only being one hallway was running into Guiche while he was swooning yet another first year. We had a long-standing agreement that as long as I didn't jibe him or blab about his activities to Montmorency, he wouldn't pester me too much on my failures. But Louise didn't quite know about this yet.

"What exactly do you think you're doing with this girl?" She said as she quickly approached Guiche.

"I have no idea what your talking about, fair lady." Guiche replied innocently.

"No idea huh? Then what was the entire 'you're my entire world' or…" I had finally caught up and clamped a hand over her mouth.

"Sorry Guiche, she still doesn't quite know what she needs to do." I apologized.

"I know exactly what I'm doing! I'm lecturing this womanizer!" Louise said, but only I heard due to my hand being over her mouth.

"Well if that's the case, you might want to take more than tomorrow off Saito. But if you would please…" He said, gesturing for us to continue on.

"Sure, sure, no problem." I said, hurrying Louise along before she could make any other outrageous statements.

Once we had gotten to the lobby of the tower I let her go and sat her on the edge of the fountain. "Look princess, this isn't your house or rules anymore. You might be the equivalent of a noble from wherever you come from, but right now you're in my court. You might not like Guiche's actions, but you have to deal with it. Got that?"

"Yes, I understand now that lecherous actions are completely sanctioned here." She said curtly. I could only hold my head in my hands and groan loudly. This woman was going to drive me _crazy_.

"Oh, there you are Saito. And I see your familiar is with you, perfect, I did want to meet her." Said an oh so familiar female voice from the entrance behind me.

I turned, and sure enough, there was Kirche in he size-to-small academy uniform with the ever-quiet Tabitha next to her. "What do you want now Kirche? You know this is the boys side of the dorms, so unless you have some sort of important business with someone here, can you please leave?" She was the last person that needed to be around right now. She would only bolster Louise's perception of the Academy being a lecherous place.

"But I came here to see you, Saito. Everyone else at least got to see and examine other's familiars, but you just ran with her to your room as soon as you completed the contract." I hesitated before I answered because I could already see that this could be a very horrible misunderstanding.

"Well, as you can see, I summoned a human girl by the name of Louise, and the reason why I took her quickly away was that she had a fever and had passed out." Hopefully this could defuse a few things before they started.

"Louise huh? Can she speak our language, or does she speak some sort of barbaric language."

"I can talk just fine, thank you very much. And French is _not_ barbaric, it is a very elegant language." Louise said from behind me.

"French? Why, that language hasn't been spoken since Germania took over the Franches Empire. And you're speaking quite fluent English as it sounds to me." Kirche said. I hadn't even known there had been such a thing as the Franches Empire. Maybe Germanian schools teach a slightly different history from Tristain.

"What's the Franches Empire? French is spoken by the French from France." Louise shot back.

Before this escalated, I hopped in. "Look Louise, I don't know about the Franches Empire either, but neither do I know of a place called France. I would also like to reiterate for at least the third time that you are not where you think you are. Now, Kirche, if you will excuse us, I have promised my familiar a tour of the Academy."

"Well, seeing as my business is with you and your familiar, I don't see why we can't tag along and point out the stuff you miss."

"You know what? Fine, come along if you want, but please don't try to strike an argument with Louise, she has a short temper."

"I do not!" Louise exclaimed. All I did was turn around and gave her the are-you-sure look that my mother always used whenever she thought I was lying. Louise looked down a bit ashamed, "It's not that short." Was all she added.

"Well, if that should be all, let's give the grand tour shall we?"

…

In all, it went a lot better than I was expecting. All right, so Louise and Kirche didn't exactly see eye-to-eye, either figuratively or literally, but they were civil enough. I was able to show her around to the dining hall, the classrooms, and Kirche and Tabitha were able to show her around the girl's personal area. Because no matter how much I was her master, I was not crossing that line.

When they came back from the girl's personal tour, it was getting to be time for dinner. I didn't think anything would be amiss until Tabitha pointed it out. "Familiars" She said while waving in the way of where other familiars had already gathered. "Well then. This might be a very big problem."

"What is?" Louise asked, a bit worried because I was.

"Well, you see, the dining room is used for students and Teachers. Commoners usually eat somewhere else and familiars eat whatever their masters bring them."

"I'm still not seeing the problem." Louise huffed.

"Neither am I." Kirche added.

"Well, depending on how others might perceive it, some may still see me summoning Louise to be a gag and get very offensive if Louise were to come in and eat with use." I cautioned.

"Oh, if it's only _that_. I'll have you know, I know very well how to act in public." Louise said, obviously being offended by what I just said. "I can show those pricks what this 'familiar' can do."

I reiterate, this woman is going to get me killed. I rushed after before she could cause a commotion, but I was already to late. She was already sitting at the end of the table and serving herself a plate. I could already see the other students staring. "Louise, what do you think you're doing? I hissed at her as I got close enough.

"Well, as you can obviously see, I'm serving myself dinner."

I give up. I'm just going to roll with it now. I took the seat next to her while Kirche and Tabitha came in and sat across from us. "What are you two doing? You'll get caught in the crossfire sitting there."

"But the more nobles eating with your familiar gives her more credibility to be here. She hasn't even made a mess, I can say that I'm impressed." Kirche replied.

I glanced over to Louise, Kirche was right; she was eating like any noble would. I could also see that other students were a lot less tense, but some still had a glare in their eye. "Thanks, you two, I owe you one."

"And I'll hold you for it." Kirche smiled. For some reason, I felt like I was going to regret saying that. But enough of that for latter, I was hungry and there was food just sitting in front of me.

After we were all done, Kirche and Tabitha said their farewells and headed back to their rooms. As we headed back to my room, I wanted an actually civil discussion. We hadn't had one for the entire time she's been here.

"So, what do you think of here?" I started off; I didn't want to assume that she accepted that this was her new home.

"It's a nice place for a prison." I was right; she still didn't like it here. I decided to roll with her way of thinking to see if I could change it.

"So what makes you think this is still a prison?"

"Well, for one there is still a giant jail grate over the entrance."

"That's to keep the wild animals out of the compound."

"There's a separation of working staff and teaching staff, obviously the laborers are prisoners."

"And you are currently not a part of that work force."

"And there are guard towers at each corner."

"And those would be the dormitories."

"You just have an answer for everything, don't you?"

"It's because you keep stating that which has an answer."

"And I'm still not convinced that I'm far from my family."

"Really? Say, are there those from where you're from?" I asked pointing up at the twin moons.

"Of course we have a moo…" She stopped and gawked. "Why are _they_ blue and pink?"

"Well, it's been told that long ago a magic swell from a magic mishap hit the moon, splitting it into the moon of peace and moon of war. The original spell was meant to bring both the best and worst out of a person, but the moon was just split."

"But, but, but magic doesn't work like that. Magic is just meant to do something flashy like cut someone in half or walk away from a pierced box unharmed."

"Well, that's how magic works here. Now if you won't mind, I want to go to bed. Or must I carry you again princess?" I took a last jab.

She just flushed red and walked off towards our dorm.

…

"So, how is this going to work again?" Louise asked.

"Well, you take the bed and I take the cot. How hard is that to understand?"

"The part where you tell me what I'm going to be wearing to bed."

Crap, I completely forgot that part. Actually, how was I going to clothe her? She defiantly wasn't going to be wearing that shirt and skirt forever. I might ask Tabitha for some loner clothes until I could buy Louise some.

"Well, until I can come up with some extra clothes for you, you're just going to have to deal with wearing one pair of my pajamas." I saw her grimace at this. "Well it's either that, staying in your own clothes, or going commando. And I wouldn't suggest the third option, seeing as we both have to share the room."

She blushed a florescent pink and the mumbled "I'll at least take a shirt."

I didn't want to push her on this one, seeing as this also set me a bit on edge. So I went over to my drawers and pulled out a set for me and a shirt or Louise. "If you don't mind facing towards the window and closing the curtain please. I'll be facing the door." I said as I tossed her the shirt.

I looked away and got prepared. By the time I was done, so was she, and my heart might have stopped for a beat or two. She just looked so adorable in a shirt at least a size to big. Her clothes were lying on the bed, neatly folded. It was at least nice to know that she could be organized.

Just then there was a knock on the door. Thank Founder that my parents had taught me to lock my doors; otherwise this could look very bad. I put Louise's clothes and mine in a basket for the nightly clothes gathering. I opened the door to find Siesta there waiting with an empty basket. Oh what fortuitous luck.

"Good evening Siesta. May I have a favor done? It would mean a lot to me."

"Oh, well, I guess, if it's not all that out of the way."

"It's not. All I need is some spare clothes for Louise, so that she has an extra pair besides her own." I said as I swapped the baskets. "If you could have them up here by tomorrow morning, that would be wonderful."

"That shouldn't be a problem." Siesta confirmed.

"Thank you very much. I'll see you in the morning then. Goodnight Siesta."

"Goodnight Mr. Hiraga."

"Siesta…" I said warningly.

"Sorry. Goodnight Saito."

"Thank you." I said as I shut the door.

"You seemed rather familiar with your maid." Louise said testily as the door closed.

"She's not _my_ maid, she works for the school. And I just like being sociable, is that so wrong?"

"I guess not." She mumbled.

"Well, if your not going to patronize me anymore, I suggest that we go to sleep." I said as I got on the cot. "Goodnight Louise."

"Goodnight Saito." She said as I heard her get into bed. That night was the most restful I had in a looong time.


	4. Decide and Meet

**A Decision and A Meeting:**

I woke up the next morning with a loud yawn. I looked over at the window. The sun was just barely over the wall, which means breakfast would be within the next hour. I then looked down at the bed in which my familiar was sleeping in.

Might I say, she looked adorable. She was curled on her side underneath the covers. I smiled and toyed with the idea of waking her up, but I decided against it. A grumpy and temperamental Louise would be worse than just a testy Louise. Just then I heard a light knock on the door.

It was Siesta with a full basket. I had cracked the door open and put a finger up so that she would keep conversation down to a whisper. "I brought what you requested, but I'm afraid I could only find spare uniforms."

"That should be fine." I whispered. "Thank you again Siesta, you have no idea how helpful this is. If you ever need a favor, I'll see if I can help."

"Oh. Well, thank you Saito. I need to get back to work." She said with her head down as she hurried off. I could swear I saw pink, I wonder what I said that could have offended her.

I closed the door and I started to hear Louise squirming. I put the basket down on the table and walked over to her. "Louise, it's time to get up now."

"Mmm, not now Saito, you just saved the kingdom last week, don't go now." She mumbled. Was she already thinking I was going to save the kingdom? She must be holding me to a higher standard than I thought.

"Louise, it's time to wake up, otherwise you're going to miss breakfast." I said shaking her. Breakfast seemed to get to her, because she started getting up a bit faster. As she sat up, I threw her her clothes for the day.

"Mph! Hey, what's that for?" She asked. Yep, she was back to the pestering Louise.

"They're your clothes for today. Remember? Your other ones were sent for washing yesterday?" I reminded her.

"Of course I remember, it only happened yesterday." She said promptly, trying to sound like she wasn't confused still.

"Well, if you will change like last night, I'll be facing the door." I said as I got my clothes from my drawer.

We changed without incident, but it felt kind of weird. Here I was in my second year black cloak, walking next to Louise who was in our school's uniform with no cloak. We both had long sleeve white shirts on. I had black pants while she had a black skirt near identical to the one she wore yesterday. The only real difference was that I was wearing the school's black shoes, while she still wore the odd ones.

As we approached the dining hall for breakfast, Kirche and Tabitha joined us again, along with Guiche, Malicorne, and Montmorency. Well, Kirche had said the more the better, so we all went in and sat down. There seemed to be less scorn than from yesterday thanks to the three additions, but I could still feel some heat on my neck from those who still felt like I was defiling the dining hall. I wanted to focus on something else, so I started with something I had been curious about.

"So Louise," said after I had finished my bagel "What are your shoes? I haven't seen anything like them before."

"These? These are just basic tennis shoes. How do you not even know about these? I thought you were all nobles or something."

"We are noble's, but even I haven't heard of anything like a tennis shoe before." Kirche added in. She must have caught on the part of shoes, perfect.

"Neither have I. who did you buy them from?" Montmorency jumped in. "Was it from someone local or did you have to special order them?"

"I just bought them from a store called Footlocker. And I don't know who they were made by, I can only assume they were made in a factory."

"What's a factory?" Guiche asked.

"You guys are kidding me right? You might not know about tennis shoes, but you don't even know what a factory is?" Louise looked extremely surprised and amused at our lack of knowledge.

"Well then Louise, why don't you enlighten us all?" I asked politely. She gladly did, she went on and on about the history of the factory and how it had evolved from laborers looking for an easier way to up production. Professor Colbert actually came over from the teacher's table and started taking notes from Louise. After she was done, Professor Colbert tapped Louise on her shoulder, and she whipped around.

"That was amazing young lady, are there other such operations from where you come from?" He asked, wide eyed and quill ready.

"Well, yes, there are also things called 'corporations', which from what I've just talked about, don't seem to be here either." She went on to talk about how business is done in her world. Man, she must really have been a noble or something. I was now getting a pit in my stomach for having to have dragged her from her family, friends, and neighbors.

"If you would excuse me, I've finished here and would like some fresh air. Louise, if you would join me outside at the tables when you're done here." I said as I stood up and started leaving.

"Sure Saito, I'll meet you out there in a bit."

…

I had to find a way to send her back. I couldn't keep her here, I don't care that she's my familiar, but she doesn't belong here. Sure she was making it by, but she was probably just trying to fit in until she found a way to escape.

I sighed and put my head in my hands and leaned on the table. I was outside, sitting amongst other second years who were taking the day to learn about their familiars. I had had one day and already knew I needed to send her back. But that just made me feel worse because I felt like I was throwing away a kitten onto the street after being gifted with it. I groaned.

"Is something the matter Saito?" I heard Siesta say. Maybe she could help me with this. I looked up and saw that she was pushing a cart with cake and tea. I was starving because I actually hadn't really had had anything at breakfast.

"There is Siesta, and if you would be as so kind enough to bring two cups of tea and two slices of cake over here, it would be appreciated."

She obliged and brought them over. "Are you expecting company?" She asked, looking around.

"She's right here, please sit down." I said, gesturing to the seat across from me.

"I-I can't sir! I have a job to do and…"

"Siesta, I am going to pull rank here and demand you sit down and talk with me." I said with a playful forcefulness. "If anyone asks where you have been, tell them Mr. Hiraga had a task for you." I added. She finally obliged and sat down.

"So," She said, fidgeting a bit, "What is your problem right now Saito?"

"I feel like I need to send Louise home." I stated. Siesta was shocked.

"But, she's your familiar! You can't just send her home on a whim!"

"I know, I know, but she doesn't belong here. You've seen how she's been acting. She might very well be a noble, and I've practically abducted her! She need's a way home to her family and loved ones." I reasoned.

"Well I see where you're going with this, but don't you think this is a bit sudden? You did just summon her yesterday."

"I know that too! I feel bad for having to send her back so soon, but I don't want too worry her family, wherever they are."

Before Siesta could respond to my most recent reasoning, we both heard a very happy woman shout very excitedly "Saito!"

"Oh no." I whispered as I turned around and immediately got a huge running hug from my sister Katra. "How ya doin' little bro?" She asked, still having me in one of her death hugs.

"I'd be doing a lot better if you were to let go." I wheezed. She let go and I was actually able to get a look at her. She had shoulder length black hair in a ponytail in the back in her usual black traveling cloak. Beneath I could see that she was wearing a practical short sleeve white tunic and black shorts with brown traveling shoes.

"Katra, you know our parents don't approve of you wearing shorts. You know they say a proper lady wears skirts or dresses." I tried to berate her. I failed.

"But our parents aren't here, now are they? Besides, they don't need to travel like me." She said smiling at me. I looked around her, but I couldn't see her familiar.

"Where's Felix? I can't see him anywhere." Felix was Katra's familiar phoenix that she had summoned in her time at the academy. He helped in a majority of her healing operations. In fact… "Why are you here anyways Katra? Nobody's dyeing are they?"

"No, nothing like that. It's just that Old Osmond _is_ old, and I need to check up on him at least twice a year. And the reason you can't see Felix is because he's with the principle right now checking on him. But I see you're doing better, having a maid have tea and cake with you, you player." She said nudging me.

"I-It's nothing like that! Siesta has just been a very helpful hand with my new familiar, so I thought I could treat her to a break."

"Your new familiar? That's right! You should have just summoned them yesterday. No wonder there are so many second years out of class. So, Saito, where is it? I can't see any creature around here that would belong to you." She said, craning her head around to see.

"Saito!" I heard Louise call from the edge of the tables.

"Over here Louise!" I called waving her over. "Finally done with your talk with everyone?"

"You would not believe how much they didn't know! They didn't know what a car is, not even a bicycle!"

"Saito, who is this girl? She's in uniform, but she's not wearing her cloak." Katra said.

"Saito, who's this woman? She's a bit to informal with you." Louise said. I could almost visibly see the sparks flying.

"Louise, this is my sister Katra. Katra, this is my familiar Louise."


	5. Magic Familiar

**Magic in the Hands of the Familiar:**

My sister and Louise glared at each other for a bit longer before my sister burst out laughing. This thoroughly confused Louise, Siesta, and myself. Katra was laughing so hard she had to sit down in my seat so as to not fall on to the ground. Louise and I grabbed seats across from each other and waited for my sister to stop laughing.

"Good one Saito, that's a really good one. Now, seriously, where is your familiar?"

In reached across the table and grabbed Louis's left hand and turned to Katra so that she could see the familiar runes. The laughter was right out of Katra. "You're serious. This little pink girl is your familiar?"

"Yes, she is, so I would like it if you would treat Louise with at least some respect." I answered tartly.

"Sorry, sorry, I didn't mean to be rude. It's just that, well, a human is just unheard of." Katra apologized.

"That's why we were just…" Siesta started, but I cut her off with a glance, I didn't want anyone else to worry about my dilemma. "… Discussing how this could have happened." She finished hesitantly. Neither of them seemed to notice, Katra and Louise still seemed a bit on edge with each other.

"So you're his older sister?" She questioned.

"Yes, that's right. Do you have any siblings Louise?" Katra questioned back.

"Two older sisters, but they don't act anything like you just were." Louise said flatly. I saw this going nowhere good. I had to intervene. But the thought that I had taken Louise away from her sisters just made me agonize more.

"Well, different families are raised different ways." Was all Katra gave in return. Louise seemed to be really drawing on her patience.

"Well, it's nice that you came around Katra, are you going to be staying long?" I was finally able to jump in. This seemed to defuse the tension. Katra turned to me and smiled. "I'll actually be staying here as the school's nurse."

Well, that's just great. Not only is Louise is going to kill me, but my sister was going to be here to look over my shoulder for everything. I really didn't want to think about that right now.

"Wait, doesn't that mean you'll be…"

"Teaching healing magic classes, which you have to take this year." She finished for me. "But lets not talk about business right now. Let us just enjoy each others company."

We had a decent snack and rather interesting small talk. Louise told us of a thing called a 'hospital' where many sick patients were taken care of. Siesta told us of how her grandmother had taught many in her village how to treat themselves. My sister even started taking some notes from Siesta to use on some of her next patience. When we were about done with our cake, Felix came around to inform Katra on Old Osmond's condition. She nodded and turned to us.

"Well, as it turns out, Osmond is doing very well currently." I saw Siesta give a small sigh. "But it seems he needs to… oh." Katra stopped and turned a bit red.

"What? He needs to do what?" I asked. I really did like the principle; even if every time I saw him was to get lectured. I really didn't want to be at his funeral just yet.

"Well, one, he need's to hide his mouse a bit better." Oh, so it was a familiar squabble. "He also needs to stop hiding it in his secretary's dress." I saw Louise and Siesta go a bit red, but all I could do was stop from laughing out loud. I only managed to keep it to a snicker.

"And what, dear brother, do you find so funny about hiding a mouse in a woman's dress?" Katra glared at me.

"I-I'm sorry, I just thought it was going to be serious. Not of an old man still trying his ways on his secretary." I had to explain; otherwise I would have three angry women around me. I really had to get more male friends. Luckily for me, Siesta started giggling as well. Whew, dodged a bullet there.

"You have to admit, the principle does tend to act a bit senile around woman to get a feel." Siesta said.

"So the principle _does_ condone lecherous actions to take place here." Louise pouted.

"No, no, that's just him." I said, trying to calm the storm before it came. All seriousness was back.

"What does she mean when she says 'lecherous actions are condoned here'?" Katra asked me. Looks like I failed to see my sister's storm front coming.

"Didn't you know? The men here seem to be able to say and do about anything they want to women." Louise addressed Katra. Great, the perfect storm was about to blow through the school. And it was all my fault.

"Well, it seems standards have lowered here since my time." Katra said, standing up.

'Oh please don't' I begged on the inside.

"It looks like I have a few rules to enforce in this school. I'll see you later in class Saito. It was lovely meeting you Louise."

"The pleasure's mine." Louise commented back.

"By the way, the tea and cake were excellent, Miss…"

"Siesta, ma'm. But Siesta is just fine, ma'm" Siesta added.

"And Katra is just fine as well. Any friend of my little brother is a friend of mine." Katra said. And with that, she turned and left towards the center tower.

"Oh dear, it looks like Osmond is going to get it from my sister." I said as I looked after her until she turned the corner.

"Your sister seems like a very nice person." Siesta said. "She seems like the type who would jump on every opportunity she came across."

"And you would be right on that point." I said, turning back to Louise and Siesta. "She graduated here near top of her class, and immediately went into the field of medicine. Mom and Dad didn't really see a point in her taking a job such as being a medic, but she stood her ground."

"She also seems like the type of person who could tear your head off in a second if she wanted to." Louise commented as she rubbed her neck. Only then did I see a small red line around it.

"To right. Everyone in my family is trained for military service if we so choose to. Are you all right Louise? Did my sister do that?" I asked, concerned that something had happened to her while I was right here.

"Hm? Did she do what?" Louise asked as she turned back to me.

"That red mark around your neck, isn't that what you're rubbing?"

"Saito, I don't see a mark on Louise's neck." Siesta said as she looked at Louis's neck. "You must be seeing things."

I could have sworn I had seen something, and Louise was definitely rubbing something, But I didn't want to make any more of a scene. "You're right, I might just be on edge from seeing my sister."

"Why? She seems like a perfectly good person, why would her being here make you edgy?" Siesta asked.

"Because, even though she has taken up the profession of medicine, she's an even better fighter than my older brother."

"Who's your brother?" Louise and Siesta asked simultaneously.

"General Shin Hiraga." I answered in a low voice. I didn't like others knowing, because that usually led to people comparing me to him, and I was nowhere near his example.

Not surprisingly, Louise didn't understand who my brother was, while Siesta gasped. "_He's_ your brother? I knew you had the same last name, but I thought-"

"-That a screw up like me couldn't possibly be related to him? Yeah, I get that a lot." I sighed into my tea. "As you can see, I don't compare to either of my siblings."

"Not that you didn't compare, but rather how you act. I've heard that General Hiraga holds no compassion for anyone, save his own familiar. The way you've been treating me has placed you in a different field than your brother." Siesta said. This actually raised my hopes a bit. Nobody had ever actually put me outside my sibling's shadows before.

"Thank you Siesta, that means a lot to m-" but I was cut off by a sudden "Thunk" of Louise hitting the table. I was by her side immediately. Siesta was still in her seat, but she looked very nervous. "Was she allergic to anything in the food?" She asked. I saw now that she was worried not only for Louise, but also her own safety. I didn't like this.

" I don't think so, but I think I should take her to my sister. Siesta, just relax, clean up, and get back to your job, I'll worry about Louise." I said as I picked Louise up and headed over to where my sister had gone.

…

"Katra!" I yelled as I got to the nurses station in the main tower. It had been a bit of a climb up, but with the way Louise was burning up, it felt like nothing.

"What is it Saito?" I heard my sister call out from behind the curtain where the nurses desk was. She was obviously concerned with the urgency of my call.

"It's Louise, she just collapsed a bit after you left. I don't know what's wrong, but she's burning up." I said as I got Louise to one of the beds. Katra came over with a bowl of water with a cloth in it. She immediately placed it over Louise's forehead to cool her down a bit. I took a seat to the side and waited, whatever it was, my sister would at least be able to find it, if not cure it.

Katra whistled and Felix came over with her wand in his claws. He dropped it neatly into her hand, and with a few movements, she took some of the rest of the water and made Louise drink it. After a few test's, my sister got a look of confusion.

"What is it Katra?" I asked. I didn't like it when my brilliant sister of a medic was concerned.

"Saito, I can only know this from you, is the a red line around Louis's neck?"

I looked again, and sure enough, it was there, only bigger now. The ring was now as wide as my thumb. "There is." I answered weakly.

"Well, then this shouldn't be so bad." My sister said, visibly relaxing.

"What do you mean it shouldn't be so bad? What could it possibly be?"

"Well, it was either the Aiderion Flu, which has no cure, or magical backup." My sister said.

"How can you tell the difference?"

"The only real difference between the two is that magical backup has a red ring mark that can only be seen by family and/or _very_ close people." She said looking up at me. I immediately flushed red.

"W-We have d-done no s-such things!" I stuttered.

"Probably not, but a kiss is all that's needed. And seeing as she's your familiar, you had to go through the contract ceremony."

"T-True." I said looking down.

"Now the only problem is how she has magical backup." My sister said as she stood up and went back to her desk. She came back a second later with one of the academy's backup wands.

"What do you need that for? You haven't just broken yours in the past ten seconds, have you?" I joked.

Katra laughed. "No, no. But, dear brother, I am proud to say that you have one _very_ magical familiar on your hands here."


	6. Sword Summoning

**Sword Summoning:**

"Well, she's a familiar, of course she's going to be magical." I said as I looked at my sister. I still wanted to know what she needed with a backup wand.

"Sure, she might be a familiar, but she's also human. And if she's human and has magical backup, that means that she can use magic." Katra said as she placed the wand in Louis's hand, curling her fingers around it.

"Wait, what?" I said as I stood up. "What do you mean, can Louise perform magic?" That would be just great. I can summon something that could more than likely be better at magic than me.

"Possibly. Either she's producing enough magic and not expelling any of it to make her sick, or she has somehow ingested magic in some form to make her sick. Either way, she is going to have to do something to get it out of her system. Now the only thing left to do is for her to actually do it." Katra said, standing up and stepping away.

I thought I could more than likely get her to do it. I could more than possibly get her to perform a levitation spell or some sort of cooling spell for herself. "Louise," I whispered, "Isn't there something that you really want right now?"

"Yes." She mumbled. She lifted the wand over her head lazily and drew two lazy circles. "Venit." She murmured. 'Come'? Come what? She hadn't added anything else to it, it would only sizzle.

Silly me though, this was my familiar we were talking about, of course it would explode. After I had hacked enough smoke and waved it away, I saw Louise again. But instead of holding a wand, she was now holding the hilt to a very rusty sword. Again, it figures that my familiar should get as much out of a spell than I would.

Louise couldn't hold her arm above her anymore and slammed the blade into the ground. "OI!" I heard a metallic voice ring out. I whipped around to see the armor golem someone had finally been able to make that could transfer the casters voice. My brother had been looking for someone who could that for ages. But I didn't see anything.

"Could you please mind the material? I might be rusty, that doesn't mean you can handle me like a pile of junk." I heard the voice clatter on. But given it's own description; I walked over to the sword Louise had just summoned up and knelt in front of it. If I hadn't already seen swords plenty of times before, I could say that the piece of metal near the guard looked like the bottom to a metal man's jaw.

"What are you looking at?" The metal asked as it clattered up and down.

"Fascinating," I said as I examined the sword from every angle I could get a look at it from. "An animated sword. You don't usually see something enchanted last this long."

"That's 'cause I ain't animated, you nosy kid. I was forged in magic." The sword rattled at me.

"But that can't be possible. Magic forging was lost in the time of the Founder." I mused, still trying to take in the impossibility of an animated sword being summoned.

"Well, if I were you kid, I would look after that dame on the floor over there with the Phoenix eying her." He said. (At least it sound's like a male voice, might as well call it a he.) But what he did say concerned me. I looked behind me to see my sister flat on her back with Felix sitting on her chest.

"Katra!" I exclaimed as I hurried over to examine her. It only looked like she was unconscious. I had forgotten that I had grown accustomed to being blasted in the face, while my sister had only just shown up. I hefted my sister (who was considerably heavier than Louise) onto the adjourning bed next to Louis's. Felix landed on the frame above her head, still looking worried. I ruffled his head, "Don't worry, she should be fine Felix." He seemed to relax, fluttered onto his master's stomach, and settled down for a nap until his master woke.

"So," I said turning to the sword "where shall we begin with you? Shall we start with who you are and where you came from?" I asked as I brought a chair around to face him.

"Hmm, I guess I can tell you at least that much. My name's Derflinger, Derf for short. And for where I come from, I came from a dusty bin in the clearance section of a small weapons shop." He said.

"Ugh, you know that's not what I mean about where you come from. I mean where were you made, who made you?"

"Sorry kid, can't tell you that. Only my master can ascertain that information from me."

"Wait, of you can only tell that information to your master and you were in a clearance bin, who is your master?"

"The Gandalfr, obviously. Who else could own a blade as exquisite as me." I heard him say with a swell of pride.

"But that can't be possible. The Gandalfr was the-" I was interrupted by the sound of footsteps running through the halls. Eventually the door was slammed open by Guiche.

"Saito, what did you do! What in the Founder's name could possibly cause you to use magic in the nurse's station? We don't even have a nurse right now!" He started, but then saw my sister and Louise on the beds. "And what do we have here? And I thought I was a player, and here you have two unconscious women. Nice going." He said in amazement, patting me on the shoulder.

"It's nothing like that." I said, brushing his hand off. "For one, she's my sister, Katra." I said pointing. "And second, Louise is sick." I said turning back, but when I looked at her neck again, the red ring was gone. "Or was." I mumbled.

"And don't forget me!" Derf rattled. Guiche looked around confused. "Did I just hear right? It sounded like a metal golem someone had just been able to transfer their voice through."

"No, no. That was just Derf, Louis just summoned him up." I said, directing Guiche's attention to the sword.

"She did what?" Guiche asked in astonishment.

I sighed. "You might want to pull up a chair so I can tell you. Might as well read Derf here in on it to. I'm guessing you might want to know why you're here." I said as I looked down at the sword.

"Well, seeing as I'm stuck here, I might as well." He said.

So I started with my sister showing up and told of how she had met Louise. I then explained that Louise had had magical backup and had to do something. So when she had, Derf had shown up in the aftermath.

"So what you're telling me is that your familiar, Louise, is able to wield magic. And when she used it for a summoning, she got this sword?" Guiche deadpanned at me.

"As far as I can tell." I shrugged.

The Guiche did the least expected thing. He laughed. He laughed so hard that he fell out of his seat and didn't care. (All right, honestly, how was this guy my best friend again?) He actually laughed so hard that it woke up Louise and Katra. There was a mingle of confused murmurings, followed by Louis's yelp of disgust.

"Saito! Why would you put that in my hand?" She demanded.

"I didn't put it there, you summoned him." I said, turning to her.

"Why would I summon something like this? Wait, I can't even use magic, how could I summon it in the first place?" She said leering at Derf.

"One, I don't know why you summoned Derf. And two, apparently you can."

"Derf?"

"That would be me ma'm." Derf rattled.

"Did that thing just talk?" Louise asked, cowering a little bit away from him.

"Interesting, it did just talk." My sister observed, getting out of the bed. "And it's so rusty, it's amazing that it's enchantment has lasted this long."

"Like I said before, I ain't enchanted, I was made this way." Derf said.

"Made? As in forged in magic?" My sister inquired. I was getting a little tired of the exchange that I had just had with Derf, so I got up and propped Guiche against the wall in his fit of chuckles. I then came over and tried to consolidate Louise.

"It turns out that you had some magic backed up in your system." I started. "When my sister handed you a wand so that you could perform something to get it out, you summoned Derf."

"But how can I use magic? Where I come from, magic just exists as tricks." Louise asked, starting to get a little bit worried.

"Hey, don't worry about it. Maybe coming here or contact with my magic kick started some sort of dormant power. But whatever did happen, don't fret over it, learn how to use it." I said patting her head. She seemed to calm down a bit at this. Honestly, I wanted her to be good at what she could do, and maybe be better at it than me.

Wait, what am I thinking? I wanted to send this girl home, and here I am asking her to deal with a power she's unfamiliar with. If that were to happen, she would have to stay even longer to learn how to use it. I just hated how I was contradicting myself.

"The Gandalfr?" I heard my sister say, getting to the point where I was interrupted. "But that's impossible, he was the Founder's familiar." My sister mused as she stood up and went back to her desk.

"Hey kid." I heard Derf call from the other side of the bed. "I still haven't seen the guy who's summoned me." 'See'? How could a sword see? Before I could ask though, Louise pulled him up from out of the ground.

"And why does the one who summoned you have to be a man?" Louise demanded, gaining her arrogant self-confidence back.

"Because the Gandalfr is always male. It's been that way ever since the beginning of magic, or so I heard. So who are you girl?" Derf questioned.

"I'm Louise Vallière, and I'm the _girl_ who summoned you." She fumed.

"Well, that shouldn't be right." Derf murmered.


	7. Figuring out your place

**Figuring Out Your Place:**

"Why shouldn't that be right?" I asked Derf.

"Because I'm a _sword_ kid. I'm meant to be used in a fight, and if I'm in the hands of girly girl like this girl, then I'm pointless." Derf replied, sounding quite upset, of all things.

Louise looked a bit ticked off at his assessment, and she calmly slammed Derf against the floor.

"OI! What was that for?" Derf shouted angrily.

"For saying anything that I do is pointless. That's what." Louise pouted.

"I didn't say everything you did is pointless. I just said that wielding a sword would be point-OW!" Derf ended as Louise hit him against the stone floor again.

"I can handle a sword better than you think, thank very much." Louise said to his 'face'.

"All right, all right, break it up you two." I said. "We can debate how well Louise can use a sword later. Right now, we need to make sure that Louise is actually better."

"Humph." Louise pouted as she leaned Derf against the wall. I could hear a satisfied sigh from Derf, probably from not being slammed into the ground again.

"She… magic… rusty sword… only Saito's… hahaha!" Guiche was still laughing. I guess it just had to pass now, there was no breaking him out of it. I went over to my sister's side, as she pulled her wand away from her temple.

"What cha' doin sis?" I said as she turned to me.

"I just got done talking with the principle. He wants to see you and Louise as soon as you're done here. He said you knew the way quite well. What have you been doing to go there so often?" She asked.

"Eheh, nothing much. Emphasis on nothing." I laughed nervously and scratched my head.

"Still having problems casting?" She peered at me.

"Yeah." I said defeatedly. When it came to magic, I was a bit ashamed to compare notes with Katra. Whenever I told her about the spells I had failed, she tried to teach me how to do them properly, but I just kept messing up and feeling worse. She eventually stopped, but now she was my water magic teacher, how was I going to do that now?

"Well, I guess you'll get it right eventually." She sighed. "I guess I have to make sure Louise is fine now."

"That would be appreciated." I said. Katra got out of her chair and opened one of the drawers in the desk and pulled out a pair of square, black glasses. "What are those for?" I asked. My sister had a bunch of weird little gadgets that she either crafted or collected from her travels to master air magic, this one I hadn't seen yet. And I knew she didn't need them for herself, she had had perfect vision since forever.

"These are a little thing I picked up from my time in Germania." Katra said as she put the glasses on and looked at me. She seemed a bit startled, but quickly covered it. "They help me determine the flow of magic. These should be easier than a spell to tell if Louise has any remaining magic in her." And with that, she went back to see Louise. "Oh my." She gasped.

I quickly got back to see what it was, but Guiche and Louise were just where I had left them. "What's the matter Katra?" I said looking at my stunned sister.

"I don't think I was wrong about my earlier assessment." Katra breathed. She walked over to Louise and sat on the bed across from her, getting Louise's full attention. "Louise, you are currently in possession of some rampant magic." She said calmly.

"WHAT!" the four of us exclaimed. The claim apparently snapped Guiche out of his laughing coma. Derf seemed to be at full attention, and Louise and I were just shocked still.

"What do you mean she has rampant magic?" I said, being the first to recover.

"How can I even have magic? Magic isn't real where I come from, and even if I had a talent for magic, why did it cause such a problem?" Louise asked.

"I don't know where you come from Louise, but those of us who have the ability for magic have a cap at which we can store such a power. If my suspicions are correct, until about a day ago, you had no magic whatsoever in you, but now you're practically overflowing with it. It's practically dripping off Derf right now."

"So that's why I feel so sickly." Derf muttered. 'How can metal feel sickly?' I wondered. But I put that aside for later, right now Louise needed something to keep her up. Literally in fact as I had to catch her as she began to fall out of bed.

"So, what kind of magic can she do?" Guiche asked, taking a serious note for once.

"I can't tell that." Katra said as she took off the glasses. "All I do know is that we need a proper wand in her hand for the next time she starts getting critical again." Louise and I shot a worried glance over at her. "Don't worry," She said holding up her hands defensively, "This should only last for another day or so before the magic settles down." We both sighed. "Well, that's all I have for you two. Saito, you know where you two are needed next."

I nodded and help Louise out of the bed. I picked up Derf and left with Louise as I directed her up to the Principles office. Not ten seconds after we left the nurses office, I heard the solid sound of the human body hitting the wall. I turned to see a solid shoe print around Guiche's face as he lay against the opposing wall of the office. I probably should have warned him not to hit on my sister, but I felt satisfied.

…

"Do you know why I asked to see you?" Old Osmond asked.

"Well, seeing as I haven't blown up anything recently, not really." I said. We had made up to the office with no problems, but Louise either seemed upset or confused that we were here, but I couldn't tell, and Derf's constant complaining of not having a sheath didn't help either. "But if it wouldn't inconvenience you, could you call Professor Colbert up here? I was wondering if he could make a sheath for a sword." I had told Derf to keep his mouth shut while we talked, and he begrudgingly agreed. So he didn't shout his excitement when I mentioned him getting a sheath, but I could feel him shaking.

"And I take it it's for that sword?" Osmond said, raising an eyebrow. The principle had always been a sharp man, even when he chose not to be. I think this might be one of the times where he wanted me to spill the beans first before he told me anything conclusive.

"Um, yeah. You see, Louise had some… magical issues, and when they resolved, this sword was an after product." I said, trying to skimp on as many details as I could. I wasn't quite sure, but I felt like I had a piercing gaze going straight through me. I had been here many times before, but this had never been here.

"Mrs. Longueville, if you could fetch Professor Colbert for us if he's not busy at the moment, that would be appreciated. Please tell him it's urgent, that usually quickens him up a bit." Osmond said with a slight chuckle. Mrs. Longueville, Osmond's green haired and spectacled secretary, got up quietly from her desk that was behind me and to my left, and left just as quietly. The unease also left with her, I might have to look out for that woman, she had more to her than I was seeing.

"Would you mind telling me more of your familiar's… issue, while we wait?" Osmond asked in his level, serious voice. I think he saw it to, probably why he didn't use the same communication spell my sister used.

There was no real use to hiding anything from the principle; his familiar was a mouse after all. He was known for getting information out of the students that they hadn't said outside of their own chambers, and even though we, as the student body, couldn't catch him. The girls were the most livid in catching the mouse at it too.

So I just told him the entire story, starting from the time we were having tea, up to the point of us leaving the nurses office. I deliberately left out the part of Guiche being assaulted; I don't think it would be good for either his or my sister's credit.

Osmond took this all in without a single interruption; I think Louise was even surprised with the amount of detail that I described her magic use. Only when I had finished did Osmond sigh. This was really confusing for me. Usually, Osmond would start drilling me on what I could learn from this experience, but instead he stood up and went to his bookshelf. From it, he drew out a worn, gray, and dusty book from it. He blew the dust off of it and sat back down at his desk. As he began flipping through the book Professor Colbert came in the room, and with him, the unease.

"Will you please wait for a bit Mrs. Longueville? Go grab some tea from the café, I hear it's earl gray tea with chocolate cake today." Osmond said without even looking up, but that merry tone of his was there. The door closed and Professor Colbert was beside me, the unease gone once again.

"You wanted to see me sir? Your secretary said it was urgent?" Professor Colbert inquired.

"I see she had to use that excuse, sorry to drag you from your experiments Professor. Could you help me find something?" Osmond asked without looking up. He must have really been into that book to not look up from it for two people. But Professor Colbert complied and walked over to the desk and took one look at the book and was shocked.

"Sir, what do you need from _this_ book?"

"Exactly what you think I need, now will you help?" Osmond asked, finally looking up from the book. I saw a gleam of both curiosity and worry. This was quickly losing me, and I could see it had lost Louise quite a while ago.

"S-Sure I'll help, but it's very old, I don't think any of it will be relevant to today."

"It is _very_ relevant. Now, where would his runes be?"

"Have you tried his history?"

"Yes, but it wasn't there."

It quickly diminished into quiet murmurings that I couldn't decipher, so I finally had a second with Louise. As I looked over to her, she had a look of angry concern. The facial expressions she could make baffled me.

"What did you mean you hadn't blown up anything? Does that mean you constantly use explosives here?" Ah, I see. She had reverted to thinking this was some sort of prison.

"No, no, it's just when I try to use magic, it doesn't tend to be pretty afterwards." I replied.

"What type of magic are you good at then?" She asked, genuinely curious.

"Currently, nothing." I shrugged. She just looked up at me in disbelief, but couldn't say anything because Professor Colbert suddenly said "Ah ha! Here it is!"

Louise and I looked over quickly at the exclamation and saw a beaming Professor.

"Huh, I would have never thought to look under 'pets'." Osmond mumbled. "Can you two come over here please? And Louise, if we could see your left hand please?" We walked over and Louise gave up her hand. It was actually the first time that I took a good look at them, and I could kind of see where the two of them were going.

The runes were different, most familiar runes were one or two that marked the familiar as their masters. But Louise's runes were far more complex than I could hope to imagine, and as I glanced over to the book, the runes were nearly similar. There was only a line off here or there.

"Hmm…" both of them sounded.

"Well, I think from what we have here, we can confirm her as the new Gandalfr." Osmond stated.

"Well, if that's true, then Mr. Saito here is…"

"Yes, yes it does."

"It means what?" Louise and I asked simultaneously. There was a hint of anger in both of our voices; I hated being out of the loop. So did Louise it seemed.

"Well, Mister Saito Hiraga, I am quite happy to announce you as a void mage." Osmond said, the worry gone, replaced with a happy gleam. I didn't quite trust that gleam


	8. Dueling Nerves

**A Duel for the Nerves:**

I couldn't believe it! I was a void mage! No wonder nothing ever seemed to work right. Because I wasn't made for it. Well, maybe not yet. I might be able to do something later, but right now, that was what was important. Louise and I had left the principles office after that little announcement and headed back to my room. As I closed the door, Louise turned to me with actual concern.

"So what does this mean for me?" She asked.

"Good question." I replied as I sat down at the table. "I just learned that you can use magic and that I'm a void mage. It kind of is a lot to take in for one day."

"And it's not even lunchtime yet." Louise huffed as she sat down on the bed.

"If I could make a suggestion." Derf said from the corner where Louise had set him down. Louise just glared at him, I looked over with respect. Even if he couldn't recall everything about himself, this was a being of legendary status. "I say we take me out for a test."

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"Well, I find that a good sparing session usually relaxes a person." Derf said. I raised an eyebrow. Sparring with either of my siblings usually left me more tense and exhausted than I started out. But I did wonder how Louise would fair in a battle, so I decided to take him up on his suggestion.

"There's only one problem with that." I sighed as I leaned back in the chair.

"What's that?" Derf asked.

"This is an academy for _magic_. They don't have swords just lying around for us to use." I explained.

"Why not just get an earth mage or something to make one?" Louise asked. I turned to her and saw that she actually looked excited. I wondered why for a second before I remembered that Derf had insulted her use of a sword. I think she was probably trying to prove him wrong. That pride was going to get her in trouble one day, but she did have a point.

"And I know the perfect guy to ask." I said smiling. "Come on you two, we're going to pay Guiche a visit."

…

"You want me to do _what_ again?" Guiche asked in surprise. I was back out in the garden area with the tables as Guiche was having cake with Montmorency. Louise was waiting at the edge of the area with Derf in hand.

"I asked if you could make me a dueling sword." I repeated. I really didn't see what the problem was.

"And why would you want one? It makes no sense, we're here to learn magic."

"Guiche, will you just shut up and do it or not?"

"Will you leave me alone for a bit if I do it?"

"Yes."

"Fine, here you go." And with a wave of his rose (Seriously, a rose), a bronze sword popped out of the ground, tip down. I picked it up and felt its weight. It was a decent sword, not grand, but good enough for sparring.

"Thanks Guiche. Have a fun time." And with that, I left to go back to Louise.

"Well, I see Guiche is good for something." Louise commented.

"Yeah, he has his moments. Now, shall we find a decent area?" I asked as I swept my arm towards the open field. I was really glad this was a day I could spend with Louise. She would be gone soon anyways.

When we got to a wide enough area, Derf told us to stop. Before Louise could contend with his order, I got in a ready stance. Derf had chosen a fair ground. It was as near as we could come to the center between the wall and center tower, and the sun was to the side behind the tower, so we were in it's shortening shadow. And thanks to the ground crews, the grounds were nice and even without a single stone to trip on.

Louise took a stance similar to mine and prepared herself. I made the first move with a left downward swing. She stopped me and circled the blades down while advancing to make the sweep connect with my leg. I stepped back and disengaged. Louise took the opportunity to move foreword for a thrust at my mid section. I deflected the thrust and went in for one of my own. Louise took advantage of her height and ducked to the left and prepared her stance again.

This went on for a long while. I never said I was good at swordplay, but neither was I horrible at it, and Louise was making me work for it. This also felt so much different from the times I spared with my brother and sister. I was losing myself in the fight, just like Derf said we would. I was actually enjoying myself in the sword dance Louise and I found ourselves in. When we found ourselves in yet another standoff, I started to hear clapping coming from ahead and behind me. I stood up in a normal posture to look around, Louise doing the same. What I saw surprised me.

First, second, and thirds years were all in the hallways watching us and applauding. It was only at that time I noticed the position of the sun. It was a bit of a ways over the center tower, which also means we missed lunch! But first I had to figure out why there were so many people watching our sparring match. Lucky for me, Guiche came out of the crowd.

"That was amazing Saito! I never would have thought you capable of such an intense sparring match, with your familiar no less! She even looked like she was pushing you a bit." He said happily.

"Guiche, why are there so many people?" I asked as I leaned on my sword. I hadn't noticed, but I was winded.

"Well, when Montmorency and I went in for lunch, I heard your sparring and thought nothing of it. I thought you would be in shortly. But when lunch was done and you still hadn't come in, I went to see what you were doing. And I saw the best match I can remember! I was just watching in aw, and soon, others came to watch as well." As he ended, I could hear both mine and Louise's stomachs growl. I saw her flush and hide behind her hair while I laughed nervously. Guiche just shrugged and laughed. The crowd had started to leave, some commenting on how well the match had gone, while others grumbled about lost bets.

One of the only people who didn't leave though was a white angel pushing the fruits of the heavens towards Louise, Guiche, and I.

"Would you like something to eat Saito, Louise?" Siesta asked politely.

"I would be very grateful." I smiled as I walked over to the trolley. Louise followed, but with caution.

"How did you know we were going to need food?" She asked. I saw a slight flush like Louise had just had, but Siesta hid it while she answered.

"W-Well, I saw the two of you sparring while lunch was in progress, so I asked the chef to prepare something for you two."

"Convenient." Louise muttered as she picked up an apple and bit into it. Her suspicions were gone immediately as she savored the apple. I, on the other hand, picked up a bowl of chopped pineapple and ate some of the succulent bits. I saw Guiche pick up a vine of grapes and start having at them. I also saw that Siesta was standing back quietly.

"Well, don't just stand there. We three can't eat all of this fruit, and it would be an insult to send the chef dishes with food still on them." I said smiling. Siesta also smiled and picked up a few orange slices for herself. We started talking about the sparring match and times where one of us looked like we had the upper hand. I was surprised how Siesta and Guiche got into an argument over who would have won if Louise and I had continued.

"So Louise, how do you feel?" I asked as Guiche defended that I could have gone for a guard cross and won with strength while Siesta argued that Louise could have slipped out of it and won.

"I feel tired, hungry, and strangely happy." She smiled. I was shocked, she looked so adorable with that smile. She quickly lost it though. "What?"

"It's just that, that was the first time you said you were happy here. And it looked like you really meant it." I said honestly. She flushed again and hid behind her hair by looking down and stopped speaking. I hoped I hadn't made her angry again.

We kept the discussion going for a little while until the fruit finally ran out and Siesta took it back to the kitchens. Guiche left to go 'look' for Montmorency, which probably meant flirt with the first girl he met. Which I was right, he started hitting on a first year that was heading to afternoon class. I just sighed. "There's no helping that boy."

"I would say so, dear." I heard Kirche say before she had her arms around my neck in a tight hug from behind. "Or her." I heard Louise mumble.

"Kirche, w-what are you doing?" I asked as her breasts pressed into my back, a bit to frequently.

"Why, showing affection of course. Who knew you were such a swordsman." She purred. I did not like this situation, and apparently, neither did Louise. "Why, if I hadn't heard, you might have slipped right by me." Damn the person who had told Kirche. I knew she was a vixen, and I also knew of the boys who had been kicked out for fighting over her.

"W-Well, that's very nice to know." I said as I slipped out from her hug and turned to face her. "But we really need to get to Professor Colbert right now. He should have our sheaths done by now. See you later." I waved as I grabbed Louise's hand and quickly walked off to the center tower.

"What was that about? And I thought the Professor was only making a sheath for Derf." Louise said as we kept my fast pace.

"For all of your misconceptions, Kirche _is_ a woman after men, and I don't intend to be one for her collection. And if I had only said you, she would have persisted to keep me while you went." I shuddered. Louise was quiet after that as we got to Professor Colbert's lab.

…

Professor Colbert obliged me on having a sheath for my sword and let us stay and help until it was time for dinner. I wasn't looking forewords to it, but I made it through without any type of actions of advancement from Kirche. During dinner, I looked up to make sure my sister hadn't been pulling my leg, and sure enough, there she was at the teacher's table. I smiled and got one in return before turning back to the group. Kirche, Tabitha, Montmorency, Guiche, and Malicorne had become the backbone to let Louise keep on dinning with us. Others were even starting to gravitate to our table, intrigued by Louise.

It made me both proud, and a bit jealous. I was starting to feel like a background character in my own life. But I shrugged it off, it was only a transition, things would settle sooner or later. After dinner, though, I made sure to escape with Louise to the dorm before Kirche could have a chance to corner me.

"Are you just going to keep running away from her forever?" Louise asked as I shut and bolted the door.

"Yeah, she seems kind of persistent." Derf said as he raised himself out of his sheath. I had to figure out how he did that.

"I'm not going to be running forever. Just for about a week or two so that something else can happen and she gets attached to that." I sighed.

"She's persistent, but she's also very fickle." Louise nodded. As before, I grabbed our change of clothes and we changed while facing away from each other. I got the basket prepped as there was a knock on the door. I opened it and found Siesta on the other side.

"You seem to pop up here quite often." I noted.

"I'm only doing my job Saito." She replied softly, but I could see some red coming to her cheeks. She might have to get that checked some time soon. I grabbed the basket and handed it to Siesta. "Oh, and Louise's clothes are ready again."

"That's good to hear. Oh, and Siesta, if you could, would you please bring a first year cloak tomorrow? I have a feeling that the principle is going to ask her to start attending classes."

"I can do that as well. If that's all, then goodnight Saito. Goodnight Louise." She called over my shoulder.

"Goodnight Siesta." Louise called back.

"Goodnight Siesta." I said as I closed and bolted the door again.

"You really have to stop doing that." Louise said as she got under her covers.

"Doing what?" I asked as I blew out the candle.

"You need to stop flirting with her." Was all Louise said as she fell asleep. I promptly stubbed my toe on my cot and fell onto it.


	9. Onwards

**Onwards:**

I woke up when I heard a knocking on the door. I got up and opened the door to find a maid with a basket of clothes. She handed it over and walked away. I was confused, I thought I had asked Siesta to bring both Louise's clothes and a set for school, but there were only clothes for me. I closed the door and got ready for the day before Louise got up. I wrote a note to Louise that I was going to check on her stuff and left it on the table.

It was still really early, at least another hour or two before breakfast. So I had a bit of time to make it down to the laundry room and back before Louise would wake up. I hadn't really made sure that Louise could actually _read_ English. Granted, I only knew the _way_ to the laundry room, not actually how the place worked. I hoped I could find somebody for help up at this hour.

As I got down there, I saw just how large the washing room actually was. I was surprised how the staff could keep everybody's clothes straight. I looked around until I saw the blue hooded shirt and headed over. Sure enough, Louise's shirt and skirt were together, and both were dry. I didn't want to touch them without permission, so I looked around for someone from the staff. I saw a trio of maids in a huddle, all with baskets, so I guessed they were working here today.

I walked over quietly as to not startle them, but also to see what they were talking about. I know eavesdropping was wrong, but I learned from Shin that subordinates won't always be foreword with information. And from the few times I actually paid attention to such hushed whispers, I gained quite a lot.

"…And I heard he only ever 'hires' women for _that._" The blond maid said.

"I'm glad that he didn't pick me." The red head said.

"He might be back soon though, Siesta isn't all that submissive." The dark skinned maid said.

At the mention of Siesta's name, my interest perked. I also felt a sudden heat rush to my face. Now, Shin always outsmarted me in tactics, but I was sure I could wriggle out some information from a maid. "Excuse me you three." I called out. All three whipped around to look at me, obviously surprised a noble was in the laundry room at the crack of dawn.

"May we help you sir?" The red head asked.

"Yes, I'm in need of a first year girls outfit and my familiars clothes back, please." I said.

"Oh! Well of course sir." The blond said, as she hurried off towards the necessary clothes. The other two just stood there nervously, fiddling with their empty baskets.

"Well don't let me hold you up, you two probably have jobs to do. Get to them." I said politely yet firmly. The two hurriedly bowed and headed off on to their jobs. I smiled, the staff here are great people, but they tended to dawdle a bit when it came to addressing nobles. Now that I thought about it, Siesta was the only maid I knew of that didn't hesitate when it came to dealing with nobles.

"This is what you wanted sir?" I heard the blond maid say from beside me. I came out of my thoughts and looked over to the basket the maid was carrying. Sure enough, there were Louise's clothes and a few pairs of first year girl uniform.

"Yes, thank you very much. Would you mind accompanying me back to my room? I don't think I could carry that basket and think at the same time." I said, using the dainty noble excuse to make her come with me. I still had a few things to learn from her. We walked across the field in silence, until we got to the dorm's entrance. I opened the door for the maid and smiled.

"Thank you sir." She said politely as she went in. I followed behind her and decided to see what I could get out of her.

"So, how many people are usually working in the laundry room at any one time?" I asked, trying something general first.

"Oh there's usually about three or four people cleaning and about five people coming in and out to drop off or pick up clothes, so about eight or nine. Why do you ask?"

"Well, there were only three of you there when I came in, and I just thought that was a bit impractical for a place so big." I exaggerated slightly. I didn't think I could charm quite as well as Kirche, but I could do some persuasion. I guess it worked, because she giggled a little.

"I guess you're right. You just happened to catch us when most of the clothes were drying and the workers were returning clothes."

"Well, I'm sure there must be a lot of trips back and forth, you probably don't see everyone in the same day."

"You're right on that point. I sometimes don't see some of my friends for days because we get assigned to different assignments."

"Like Siesta, I haven't seen her yet today." I commented, digging into what I wanted to know. I could see that Siesta had become a touchy subject, because the maid hesitated a bit before continuing up the stairs.

"Well, yes, I don't think we'll be seeing her around again." She said quietly. It was my turn now and I made a full stop.

"What do you mean by that?" I asked with a bit more malice than I was expecting to come out. She froze where she was as she heard me. I walked up behind her and turned her around. "Where is Siesta?" I asked softly.

"S-She was bought by Count Mott l-last night." She stuttered. This was apparently still a big deal to her. I thought about Count Mott for a second, and remembered a rumor I heard as a first year that a maid had suddenly quit the school to work for the Count. But some had said she had been bought.

"Last year, and even the year before, has the Count been doing this?" I asked calmly. I didn't want to agitate her any further.

"For the five years I've worked here, the Count has come once a year and bought out a maid. She hasn't been heard from since. Last year, my sister was chosen. I haven't heard from her, until yesterday."

"Why? What happened?" I asked as I took the basket from her and sat her down against the wall. I took a handkerchief out to give to her, as she was starting to tear up.

"Last night, the Count came to the school with my sister. She came out and went to the maid's quarters while he looked us all over. He went over to Siesta and took her away into his coach. He said the usual payment had already been delivered, and that there was no reason to worry or report what had happened." She ended sobbing. I was there to lend a shoulder and sat there for a few minutes with her. And in those minutes, I started planning on getting Siesta back.

…

I had sent the maid back to her work after ordering her to relax until she felt better. I also told her to spread the word to the workers that Count Mott wouldn't be doing his 'selection' again. That had made her perk up a bit. I, on the other hand, was still unsure of exactly _what_ I was going to do.

I came back into the room, and Louise was still asleep. I sighed as I went over to wake her up. "Louise, time to get up. We have some things to take care of today." I said as I shook her. She grumbled as she sat up. I handed her personal clothes to her.

"What are these for? I thought I was supposed to adhere to you dress code?" She mumbled as she put her skirt on. I quickly turned so that she could change in private. I think she saw this small act, as she gave a small yelp, and I heard the rustling of bed covers. I smiled slightly at the thought of the blush on her petit face and her hair trying to cover it.

As I started getting the whole mental picture, I felt a pillow hit my head. I snapped out of it and turned to see Louise like the day I summoned her. Granted, that was two days ago, but hey. "You can get whatever dirty picture you have out of your head right now." She scolded.

"Now, now, that's no way to treat the guy who feeds, clothes, and houses you. Heck, I even gave up my bed to you!" I saw her flush her cute little pink color at the last bit, but she just looked away.

"W-Well, if you feed me, then get me some breakfast, I'm hungry."

"All right, all right, let's get some food. Then we'll be heading out on some business."

"Ok. Wait, you mean _outside_ outside. Like, outside of the school?" Louise perked up. I remembered then that Louise had thought of this place as a prison as much as a school. I sighed.

"Yes Louise, outside of the school grounds." And with that Louise was past me and at the end of the hallway.

"Well, what are you waiting for, there's food to get!" I chuckled as I closed the door and jogged off after Louise to breakfast.

…

"I say why bother." Louise said as she finished off her pancakes. "It's not your concern who this Count hires or what he does."

"Louise! It does concern me! Because it causes stress to the faculty body and she's a friend." I retorted as I bit into my biscuit.

"I think you're just jealous another man stole your mistress." Guiche said. At that, Louise and I both chocked on what we were eating. It was still early, but breakfast had already started for the early risers. Guiche had been tending to Verdandi and decided to join us. Now, here we were, some of the only students and teachers eating an early breakfast.

"G-Guiche! Sh-She's _not_ my mistress!" I hissed. "She's a friend. Besides, you don't like Mott, you said so yourself."

"I said I don't _respect_ Mott. Liking and disliking have nothing to do with it. He squanders his responsibilities and abuses his power. He can do whatever he wants, but he's never going to have my support. Not right now at least."

"Then why not come with me to his manor to confront him?" I asked again.

"Because, unlike you, I actually can learn from my time here. We have class today, and I plan on being there."

"We only have water practice today. You're a earth specialist, why would you… Oh come on! She's already rejected you, don't pursue my sister." I begged.

"But that's just it Saito! Don't you see? She is one of the few to ever turn me down, and for that, I must have her!" He said triumphantly. I just sighed at his stupidity. Not only would Katra hurt him, but also once Montmorency found out, he would be in for it.

"Louise, are you done yet?" I asked.

"Yep." She said as she put her fork back down.

"Good, then let's go. Don't forget to grab Derf." She groaned, but she picked the sword up from the entrance where she had left him. I grabbed mine from beside him and tied it to my hip. Louise slung Derf over her shoulder and we were out of the Dining Hall.

"You know, it's very dangerous to leave your equipment unattended. Who knows? Someone might have come in and stolen me." Derf clattered on from his position.

"Will you shut up?" Louise and I said at the same time. Derf was silent, and I got my horse from the stable. Louise just looked up.

"Um, Saito? I haven't ridden a horse before." Louise said.

"Aw, don't worry. I'll keep you balanced, all you need to do is hang on." And with that, I picked Louise up and hoisted her over the horse. She screamed a little before she got on.

"D-Don't do that!" She exclaimed as I got up.

"What? You wouldn't have been able to get up yourself, and besides, now I can protect you from falling off."

She got a little wicked grin as we started riding out of the school grounds. "Aren't I the one who's to protect you?"

"Shut up." I mumbled as I could feel my own cheeks heat up.


	10. Two Devils

**A Deal Struck With Two Devils:**

Louise got used to riding the horse pretty fast. She freaked the first time I put the horse into a trot without telling her, but we got to Count Mott Manor faster that way. Around noon, we arrived at the front gates to his estate, and like any paranoid noble, he had two guards posted outside the gate. I just sighed, Mott really wasn't the ideal noble, but because he was a triangle class mage, he had his position over his providence.

"Halt!" One of the guards called out. "State who you are and what business you have with the Count!" I slowed down and pulled up so that the guards could get a clear view of me. Another thing I had learned from my brother Shin was that an impressive figure made for a better impression.

"I am Lord Saito Hiraga of the Hiraga House and Student of the Tristain Academy of Magic. I am here to speak to Count Mott of his recent and ongoing actions at the school." My display must have worked, because one of the two was already running through the gate to report. The other, the one who had called out, obviously had a stronger character.

"That is very well, but I must ask you and your companion to relinquish your weapons and wands before entering the premise."

"That is very well, but I would prefer to keep our equipment. It is not always safe on the road, and I'm sure you are very well trained for your job, but keeping our equipment would put me at a better peace of mind, and make me less irritable when talking to the Count." I knew of how the Count acted when he was insulted, and he didn't keep that temper to just the insulter. The guard must have also known this, because I could see his face fall.

"Very well then." He said as the other guard came running back.

"The Count says he's busy right now with some new personal that was just hired yesterday. He asks that you come back in about two days."

"And that is just rude and unacceptable. Did you tell him who I was, in full?" I asked, trying to lace politeness with intimidation. It worked, because I could see both guards visibly gulp.

"Y-Yes I did Lord Hiraga. The Count still dismisses you." The same guard said.

"Well then, I'll take full responsibility of this action when it reaches his ears." I said as I drew out my wand. From the way I worded it, both guards left their post in a hurry.

"You didn't have to scare them that much." Louise chuckled.

"Actually, they had a right to run." I said as I pulled the horse around and walked a good ten yards away. I pointed my wand at the gate. "Hio."

Like I expected, the two iron gates blew open from the middle. Louise visibly jumped. "W-What did you just do?" She asked.

"I just opened the gate." I said simply as the horse trotted through the blasted gate.

"You didn't have to blow it up!" She exclaimed.

"Well, that just tends to happen with any non lethal spell I cast." I admitted.

"What about the lethal ones?" She asked, very concerned.

"They just peter out." I laughed.

"So when you try to do something innocent, it blows up. And when you try to blow things up on purpose, it doesn't happen?" She asked, thoroughly confused.

"Pretty much." I said. Before she could ask any more, we had come to the front steps of the manor. I got off of the horse and tied the reigns around one of the lion statue legs that adorned the front of the house. After I did, I helped Louise down. And then four guards burst out of the front door and spotted us.

"Halt were you are! In the name of Count Mott, you are to be detained."

"And in the name of Lord Hiraga, I _insist_ on seeing the Count." I replied smoothly. The guards stiffened up.

"Hiraga? L-Like General…"

"General Shin Hiraga of the Royal Guard, yes." I replied. "Now, will you tell Count Mott that I _really_ need to see him?"

"Y-Yes sir!" The lead guard said as the four of them retreated inside. Sometimes it was good to have such a shadow of a brother. I began ascending the stairs.

"Uh, Saito? Shouldn't we wait for an escort?" Louise asked.

"Naw, Mott won't send one anyways. Right now, he's being faced with an irritated and persistent noble. He also knows who I am and why I'm here, so right now he's going to try and stall for as long as he can to come up with a decent argument. Well, I'm not going to give him that opportunity. Now come on." And with that, we both entered through the front door.

I had to say, Count Mott did like his flourish. Everywhere I looked was offensively blinding in color. I stopped at the foot of the grand staircase in the middle of the entrance hall and listened. I could hear faintly the clatter of pots and pans to my lower left, more than likely the kitchen. I could also hear clattering and scuffling of feet to the upper right. I headed up there and listened until I found the door where I could hear hushed whispers coming from. As I knocked, all sounds ceased.

"Come in." I heard an authoritative tone come through. I opened the door and entered with Louise behind me. The Count was sitting behind a desk with one of the guards next to him. "And what can I do for you today, Mister Hiraga?" Count Mott asked, like he had no clue why I was currently in the room.

"You should know very well why I'm here Count. You were the one who sent the guard back to tell me to come back in two days, were you not?" I started what would probably be a battle of wits.

"I wasn't quite listening to the report. I was dealing with a most, _temperamental_ new employee." Count Mott replied.

"Well, I suggest that you pay your guards more heed then. But seeing as I'm here, I'll repeat why I'm here. It has come to my attention that you have been hiring maids from the school for at least five years. Now, this is not very worrisome in of itself, but it has caused unnecessary stress upon the staff. So I am here to ask that you return the maid you have just hired back to the school, and desist hiring again."

"I'm sorry to say this, but I can't do that." Count Mott replied. "You see, I have an agreement with the principle that I would bring one maid here each year so that they have an opportunity to learn to do their jobs. I can't simply just stop."

"And when exactly was this deal made?" I asked. That deal just seemed a bit to convenient.

"Why, I believe that I made that deal not 20 years ago." Mott said after careful thought. I thought for a second, 20 years ago was during the time of our last principle. Very convenient, because Osmond took over because he had died. So there was no way to confirm or deny this claim.

"Then I'll ask you this, how has your work in teaching the maids gone? Has it become easier or harder over the years?" That seemed to throw him off. Having him actually do a job was never one of his strong suits.

"W-Well, I would have to say, they have been easier to deal with over the years." He said nervously.

"But that's not what he asked you." Louise jumped in. "Saito asked how training has gone, not how easily they have been to handle."

Count Mott glared at Louise, but she didn't back down. "I will admit, the work has decreased over the years."

"Then I put to you that your services no longer be required." I said simply. "It is quite simple that your services are no longer needed. If you need your payment back, I'm sure I can arrange for it."

"Oh really?" Mott asked grinning. "You know, out of all the years I've been doing this, not once has there been a report of dissent of the staff of the school. And even if there had been a report, nobles would never report this themselves. I'm sure my newest maid means something to you?"

"And if she were?" I asked straight, trying to hide the discomfort I was feeling.

"Well, I guess I could release her back to you, on a condition."

"What would that condition be?"

"You leave your pink haired companion here."

"What!" Louise shouted, making me wince. "You can't be serious! You can't honestly believe…" Was as far as Louise got before I could cup a hand over her mouth.

"And it looks like she needs the training." Mott continued.

"I'm sorry I can't do that. You see, my companion here is also my familiar. So, the answer is a firm no."

"Well then, it seems like we've come to an impasse." Mott sighed. He didn't seem discontent though.

"I'm sure there is something else you would want." I continued, trying not to seem desperate. Mott thought for a second, and then seemed to have a brilliant idea.

"If I remember correctly, there is a Germanian noble at the school presently, is there not?"

"Her name is Kirche Von Zerbst." I confirmed. That seemed to perk Count Mott right up.

"Well, that can make this deal just that much faster. The Zerbst family has been in possession of the Summoned Book for a long time. I have heard that it gives quite the boost of stamina when read. If you could acquire me this book, I will cease my hiring of the school's personnel. "

"And how long will consider this deal?" The Count was not known for generosity.

"I will consider this as an open deal. But the longer you put off getting that book to me, the longer I keep your maid." He leaned back in his chair, grinning in a way I didn't like. And with a glance, I could see Louise didn't like it either.

"Expect us back, soon." I said. With that, I led Louise back outside. We were already on the horse and trotting down the path back to school when Louise finally couldn't hold it in anymore.

"What was all of that!"

"That was politics, Louise."

"If that was politics, we could have won easily with force!"

"But force wouldn't have gotten us this opportunity."

"What opportunity?" Louise asked skeptically.

"The willing stop of Count Mott's actions. If we had just taken Siesta back, Mott would have just come to the school to take another maid. And even with that, he would also make my own life a living hell at school and early in my career. The Hiraga name might be well respected, but I am not. In fact, this might even be better for me. This could be my first outside supporter. Albeit I don't like him, he still has some persuasion."

"There's just one flaw with this plan though." Louise smiled.

"What's that?"

"You have to talk to Kirche, directly."

…

"There you are darling!" Kirche greeted us at the gate. It was now about an hour or so before dusk. Louise and I had stopped at a town near Mott's manor for a simple lunch. But now, before dinner, Kirche was waiting. Someone must have sold me out and she knew that I had to come back. Although, this was a curse and a blessing for me.

"Hello Kirche." I said with a hesitant smile. "I actually need to talk to you about something."

"Excellent!" She brightened up even more. "We can discuss it up in my room and…"

"No!" I burst out before thinking. Kirche looked at me in surprise, so I moved on. "It's just been a long ride and I would like another meal beforehand. Perhaps we could talk over the meal?"

"Of course! I'll meet you inside then. Later~." And with that, she skipped away. Louise looked up at me.

"Why didn't you take her up on her offer? You could have gotten this over much faster and gotten your maid back."

"L-Louise, I already told you that-" But Louise was already laughing.

"Oh come on Saito, I know your not like that. But I just love seeing you look flustered." She continued chuckling.

"Sh-Shut up." I mumbled as I steered the horse towards the stable. We took a while taking care of the setup, I took time to show Louise the ropes of taking care of a horse, and then we set off to dinner, slowly.

Dinner went more or less the way I expected. Kirche kept all of her attention on me during the entire meal. Everything she said either reflected on me or was compared to me. What did surprise me was she restrained herself to her seat. Guiche was giving me a sneaky glance from time to time and Montmorency actually looked like she had pity for me. Tabitha either didn't care or had no reaction to Kirche's actions, and Malicorne seemed completely oblivious. What did surprise me was how Louise kept her temper with every flirtatious comment Kirche made. I did notice, that by the end of the meal, her fork was bent at a neat 90 degrees.

As Louise and I left, I completely had forgotten to bring up the Summoned Book at all. I groaned, now I had to visit her room in the middle of the night. What made it worse was that she had told me to wait half an hour before coming up. That just made me worry more.

"I don't see why you're complaining." Louise commented as we headed over to the girls dorm tower. "Most boy's I knew would have jumped at an opportunity like this, even if it was only for official business."

"The problem again is politics." I sighed as we entered the lobby. "You have noticed how Kirche looks different from other students right?"

"Yeah, she's darker skinned. I think you said Germanian? What about it?" Louise thought out loud as we ascended the stairs.

"Currently, Germania is on unsteady ground with Tristain. Kirche is here as both a show of good faith, and as a test of character. If she were to report anything horrendous about Tristain, no matter how untrue, Germania would take her word over ours."

"Really?" Louise asked surprised. "I would never take her for such a person."

"Trust me, she is." I said as I opened Kirche's door. She was lying on her bed in the most transparent negligee I had ever seen, with her legs kicked up in the air behind her.

"I have yet to have any proof of that." Louise glared up at me.


	11. Deeper Debt and Pockets

**Deeper Debt and Deeper Pockets:**

Kirche pouted as soon as she saw Louise. "Well, you didn't need to bring your familiar, but I can make it work." Louise glanced over at Kirche and back to me. Let's see if I could defuse this bomb any better than the last one.

"Kirche, now's not the time for this. I'm here on business."

"Well so am I." She batted her eyes at me.

"Not _that_ business. Look, I'm trying to do something for the school right now, and the sooner, the better." I said quickly. Louise didn't seem like she could hold her small temper back for much longer. And if she exploded or left, there would go my last chances of a civil discussion. In all accounts, I did not want to be left alone with Kirche.

"But it gets so lonely all by myself at night up here." She pouted.

"Kirche my love!" I heard pronounced from her window. I looked over her shoulder to see a third year student outside. Which I found slightly strange, we were on the third floor.

"Flame." Kirche said in a monotone, snapping her fingers. I saw her salamander stand up from the opposite side of the bed and swing its tail at the window, sending a small fireball into the kids face. He fell, unconscious, without Kirche ever turning around once. "Oh so lonely." She continued on in a false state of sorrow.

"_Kirche._" I said warningly. This was even drawing on my own patience. "I'm trying to be serious here. If you're not going to take this seriously, then I'm leaving. Come on Louise."

"_Thank_ you." She said as she turned on her heel and started down the corridor.

"Wait!" She called as I was closing the door. "I'll talk seriously."

"Thank you." I said as I opened the door again. "Louise, get back here, we're not done."

"But you said we were!" She said as she stomped back.

"Politics, we're going to need to educate you. Anyways Kirche, what I'm here to talk to you about is a book specifically in your family." I started.

"The Summoned Book? What do you need it for?" She asked as she got off her bed and put a shirt over her transparent negligee. Of course, still leaving ample room to show off.

"I need it for a trade with Count Mott." I said flatly.

"And why would I hand you a bargaining chip so you can just hand it over to someone else?" Kirche asked as she sat back down on her bed and crossed her legs. After a second of thought, she turned back to her familiar. "Flame, would you be a dear and shoot down any other annoyances that would come to bother me? This needs my attention more." In obedience, the salamander crawled over to the window ad propped itself up, scanning the outside.

I looked over to Louise. "Do you doubt it now?"

"I still do, just not as much." Louise admitted.

Before Kirche could ask any questions, I continued. "It's for the staff of this school. Every year, Count Mott 'hires' one of the maids for 'training'. This has gone on for at least 20 years now, and it's causing stress among the faculty of the school. I need your book to stop it."

"Why doesn't the school staff bring this up with Osmond then? It's their problem, let them deal with it." Kirche stated as Flame shot a blast of fire. I saw a flash as it hit, and a 'thump' of someone hitting the ground.

"Does he do that often?" Louise asked.

"It happens from time to time." Kirche waved. "Now, why not let the school deal with its own problems Saito?" Kirche restated.

"Because I don't think they see they have a problem." I said as I took a seat across from Kirche. She seemed shocked by this claim.

"Why so?" She asked.

"Because it's still going on. Osmond obviously hasn't noticed any strain amongst the staff, and the staff is too afraid to speak out against a noble. You know how much nobles hate having their power challenged. In fact, I asked one of the laundry maids about it, and she broke down by the time she was done recounting. So only an outside source can stop this, and I don't think any other students care." I went on.

"So if I give you the Summoned Book for you to give to Count Mott, he'll stop his 'hiring'?" Kirche asked poignantly. "How can I trust you with the Summoned Book? I know of its power, I personally don't need it, but how do I know _you_ won't be using it? There is a reason why women usually hold onto it, men have been known to abuse it."

"What if I held onto the book?" Louise asked from the wall. "You know me Kirche, at least I hope you do. I'm not one to fall to pressure."

"I know you're not Louise, but you're also Saito's familiar. And a familiar does not go against their master's wishes." Kirche said, which induced a bark of laughter from me.

"Can't go against wishes? Maybe, but she is stubborn as they come Kirche. It would take lengthy debate to get something that she really doesn't want to give up. You can trust both of us, but try to believe me when I say that this school matters to me a lot. I don't want to see it crumble if I can stop it." I started to plead. "And besides, I'll owe you one."

That just made Kirche smile and get up from the bed. She walked over to her bookshelf and took a book from the shelf in the middle. She came over and placed the book on the table. It had a red binding with nothing written on it. There was a simple string to keep the two covers together; otherwise, I saw nothing special about it. "That makes two you owe me now." She said simply. Kirche then went over to the window to see Flame's progress. "Five? I say, that is commendable Flame, good boy." She said as she patted Flame on the head. I took that as the sign to get out, so I picked up the book and left with Louise.

As we got outside, I let out a loud sigh, and noticed the five boys lying unconscious on the lawn. They were all third years surprisingly enough. I hoped Kirche wouldn't seduce any of the teachers, but, knowing her, it would only be a month or two until that happened. Louise then started heading off to our dorm.

"What do you think your doing Louise?" I asked.

"Well, it's pretty much the middle of the night, so I was thinking we would head out the first thing in the morning." She said as she turned, a bit confused.

"I did say to Mott soon. Seeing as we have what we need, I don't see a reason to wait." I said.

"But it's the middle of the night! I don't think Mott would even allow us past the gate!" Louise said, exasprently. "Besides, it would be dangerous to ride out in the dark. Who knows who would get the drop on us."

"And for that you would be right. It would be dangerous to ride off unaccompanied. As for the time of our visit, Mott said he was keeping it as an open deal, but he didn't set any time we _couldn't_ stop in. Thus we come to the loopholes of politics."

"But you just said it yourself. We _can't_ go out because we have _nobody_ to accompany us." Louise said starting to lose her temper.

"Which is why we're going directly there." I said with a devious grin.

"And how do you think you're going to pull that off?" Derf said as he slid out of his sheath over Louise's shoulder. I had actually forgotten he was there, but this also made my audience one bigger.

"You remember how Osmond told us I was a void mage right?"

"Yeah, so?" Louise asked, crossing her arms.

"Well, that's why I was thinking on why most things I do don't work. Most things I'm supposed to do are affiliated to a different element. Like the gate this afternoon, that was a wind-affiliated spell, it's uncommon, but when a low level mage like myself tries to do a spell outside of their ability range that can't be compensated by skill, they back fire. So I've been contemplating a spell of my own design. Did you realize how our trip back to school took almost the same amount of time as getting to the manor, even though we stopped for lunch?"

Louise thought for a second. "Yeah, now that I think about it. We weren't even going as fast after I said you had to talk to Kirche. But how did we accomplish that." She wondered.

"With a miniature version of the spell I'm about to use." I said as I came over and handed the Summoned Book to Louise. She took it in one hand as I took her other in my own. I felt her warmth as I pulled out my wand. I flicked it back. "Teleport Mott Manor." And flicked the wand foreword.

Then the strange pull I felt every time I used the smaller version. But this time, instead of a pull in the chest, I also had the strange view of the entire scenery flashing by to be replaced by the front, destroyed, gates of Mott Manor.

"Warn me when you're going to do that! And how did you do that?" Louise scolded/wondered as I let go of her hand.

"It was something I thought would be useful and practical use of power. Unfortunately, it can only go places I've been, but I'm sure some practice can fix that. And why are you patting yourself down? I asked as I noticed that Louise seemed to be checking all over herself.

"She's checking to make sure nothing is missing or scorched." Derf said simply. Louise made the prompt act of shoving him back into his sheath with a muffled 'OW!'. "It's just that you said that you were unskilled when it comes to spells and they usually blow up. Even when this happens in books, at least one thing goes wrong." Louise said.

I just laughed softly. "Well, we're not in one of those stories now are we? Now come on, we have a Count to drop in on." And with that, Louise and I walked through the ruined gate and up to the front door. We were surprised to see, however, that a majority of the rooms were lit. I knocked on the door, and it was almost immediately answered by a butler. Shock obviously registered across his face, but his voice didn't convey it.

"Lord Hiraga, we were not expecting you so soon. Count Mott was just about to have an assembly of the staff." He said in a near monotone.

"Well, Count Mott did say that the deal would always be open. He did not state when I could not show up for our agreement." I said as I motioned Louise for the book. She handed it to me and the butler again showed shock, but this time, his voice did convey it.

"T-The Count would gladly s-see you now. Right t-this way." He said as he bowed and led us into the manor. We took the same way we had before, but this time, I could hear many more noises, mostly of dresses dragging across the floor. The butler knocked loud enough to pierce the noise. Everything stopped as I heard Mott call out in a joyous voice "What is it Dylanmond?"

"Lord Hiraga is here to see you about your agreement with him. He seems to be able to settle immediately." Dylanmond announced. There was the sound a large crowd suddenly leaving, and the Count called "Show him in."

Dylanmond opened the door and waved us in. As Louise and I walked in, the door closed behind us and there Count Mott was, filing papers like there had been no one else in the room. I hesitantly walked in until I was in front of his desk. I held up the Summoned Book for him to see. "I believe this is what you asked for?"

He looked up with a bored look, but I could see the gleam in his eye. "I'm impressed. You got such a legendary item on such short notice. Now if you could just give it to me." He said, outstretching his hand. But I drew it back slightly.

"Ah, ah, ah, first get Siesta and all of the maids you've kept here go."

Mott looked confused, but his eyes were concerned. "Whatever do you mean? I agreed to let your maid go, and I shall." He said with a snap of his finger. Dylanmond opened the door and leaned in.

"Yes sir?"

"Get the maid Siesta, tell her to pack her things, she's going back to the Tristain School of Magic."

"Of course sir." And with that, the butler withdrew. Count Mott turned his focus back to me.

"Now I said I would let your maid go, and I am, I am under no obligation to relieve the rest of my staff. Now the Book?"

"No." I said crossing my arms. "Your exact words were you 'will cease my hiring of the school's personnel.' You really need to watch how you phrase your promises. With what you said, all hired personal that were hired from the school can and will be released."

"But you know that's not what I meant!" Mott said, visibly getting angry.

"I don't." Louise said innocently, gaining the looks from both Mott and me. "Saito said he would teach me politics, and from what I heard, I thought you meant _all_ of the hired personal."

"But you're just a commoner and a familiar, you don't need to know politics." Growled Mott.

"On the contrary." I said. "If not for Louise, I might not have your precious book." I said waving it. "Now you can either release the school's staff willingly and have your book, or you can have it _after_ we strip search this manor." It seemed like the thought of his manor coming down swung him to my side of the argument, but not without resentment.

"_Fine."_ He growled. He turned to the bookshelf behind his desk and wiped his wand out and to the side. The shelf slid silently and a door appeared behind it. He entered and closed it behind him. The shelf slid back by itself. I let out a sigh of relief, and turned grinning at Louise.

"That was brilliant! Thank you so much!" I said as swooped her up in a bear hug. And then Siesta opened the door. She still had that same red flush to her cheeks, I was really starting to worry about that.

"I-I'll come back a-at a better time." She mumbled as she started closing the door. But before she could, I was already hugging her.

"Siesta! It's so good to see you again. We missed you." I said as I put her down. The red was down, but there were still hints in her cheeks. "Come on in, we still have some business to take care of." I said as I led her over to Louise.

"What is there left to do? You already paid Mott off to get me back at the school. And what did you mean 'we' missed you?" Siesta asked.

"Well, I kind of, missed having you around." Louise said at a snails pace. But that made Siesta smile.

"That's nice to hear. I actually thought you hated me Louise."

"What?" Louise asked shocked. "Nonono, I just, you know…" she trailed off. Before we could continue, Mott came back from his secret door, none to pleasant.

"There, I just released half of my maids with transport back to the school. Now give me the book!"

"Certainly." I smiled and handed it over. All anger seemed to flush away as Mott sat down greedily at his desk and unwrapped the Summoned Book.

"Yes! It's exactly what I imagined. Even though I will have to decipher this script, I can feel my stamina rising!" And as he said that, the dust cover fell off the Summoned Book. All I could see was a mostly naked woman with some strange script in strategic places. Louise, Siesta, and I all flushed and turned 180.

"I think we should leave." I suggested as I grabbed Louise's hand.

"Agreed." Siesta and Louise said as they grabbed each other's hands and Siesta grabbed her luggage. I flicked my wand out and back.

"Teleport School Grounds." And flicked the wand foreword.


	12. Learn Your Place

**Learning Your Place:**

Just like the teleport to Mott Manor, the three of us were in the schoolyard near instantaneously. There was a small yelp from Siesta, which was to be expected. I let go of Louise's hand and turned to the to of them. I saw Siesta had a hand over her mouth and I looked over to where she was staring.

The five third years were still passed out on the lawn. "Don't worry Siesta, they're not dead, only passed out." She relaxed at this.

"Yeah, they were just blasted with fireballs from Kirche's pet fire salamander." Louise sighed. That just made Siesta look at Louise in horror.

"How long have they been there?" She asked, clearly worried.

"Long enough." I sighed. "Come on, we should probably wake them up. The least they should do is go back to their dorm." I said as I headed over to the closest student. Siesta and Louise headed over to the others. I started shaking the guy by the shoulder. "Hey dude, you ok? Get up and go back to your dorm room." He groaned and turned over. He looked up at me bleary eyed, and then they snapped open as he quickly got to his feet.

"You! You were in the room with her! I'll have you know, Kirche is spoken for." He proclaimed. Dear Founder, he was still in love struck mode. And anything that was going to be related to Kirche was going to be venomously bitten at.

"Look, I don't know what you have to do with her, but I was only there for business mat-"

"I'm sure you were!" He cut in. "Getting your grubby little hands on the pure Kirche. For shame! Right here, duel m-" And before he could get the last word out, a rusty sword was being held at the student's neck.

"Look," Louise said from behind him, "it's been a _long _day for me. All I want to do is go back to my room and go to bed. Now, I can't be doing that if my master here gets into a brawl. Now tuck your tail and go to your room."

"And what if I don't?" He said whipping around glaring down at Louise. "What is a little barbarian girl like you going to do with a rusty sword?"

"A rusty sword is still a sword. It would just take a lot longer to cut you. And that would just mean more pain for you. Now, do as I suggest, and go back to your room."

"Not as long as my precious Kirche is in danger of this filth." He said, pointing back at me.

"Your Kirche?" I heard one of the other boys call out. I looked over and saw that Siesta was still waking them up. The first of the other four appeared to have regained full consciousness and had picked up on the last line. "She cannot be your Kirche, for she is mine!"

"Yours?" the third picked up.

"No, she is mine!" The first said. I moved around and lowered Louise and Derf from the first's neck, and she sheathed Derf. Siesta had woken up the fifth student and had moved away from the group.

"We should probably leave." I said to the two.

"Agreed." They both said as we snuck away. I felt some rumbling and looked back to see that the five of them had gotten into a free-for-all duel, even though it was forbidden. Suddenly, a window on the third floor snapped open and a huge fireball fell on all five of them.

"Let a woman get her beauty sleep!" Kirche shouted down at the five unconscious boys.

"Let's leave them this time." Derf said.

"Agreed." All three of us agreed. The rest of the time was uneventful. Siesta was greeted at the maid's quarters, and Louise and I said our goodnights. We both made our way to my dorm room and fell onto our respective beds without even changing and fell asleep.

…

For a change, Louise woke me up in the morning. She kept on shaking me, but I kept waving her off. She eventually got tired of my refusal to get up and elbow dropped herself right onto my back. That got me up.

"OW! What was that for Louise?" I asked angrily as she got off of me and stepped away.

"We're already half an hour late for breakfast, come _on._" I looked out and saw that she was right. Not only could I see, I could also smell. I could smell the bacon from here.

"All right, just give me a second to change. Wait in the hall please."

"_Fine_, but make it fast, I already changed." She said as she left and closed the door. I hadn't really noticed, but her own clothes were already in the hamper and I think I did see a flash of that brown cloak of a first year. I got changed and strapped my sword to my hip. I noticed that ever since Guiche had made me this sword, I hadn't been without it. I smiled as I left my room and greeted Louise outside. We rushed down the dorm and outside, right up to the Dining Hall. As we got there, I saw Kirche, Tabitha, Guiche, Montmorency, Malicorne, and a few others sitting at our table. But our two seats at the end were still empty for us. We gladly headed over and served ourselves today's bacon and eggs.

The meal was lively, Guiche told us of how Mott was now looking to hire some new help, Kirche was giving me knowing glances, and Louise was having at her meal. In fact, so was I. I hadn't actually noticed how hungry I was until I sat at the table. I was on my third servings of pancakes when I felt a tap on my shoulder. Praying above that it wasn't one of the five guys from yesterday, I turned to see who it was.

Katra was standing behind me, not looking so pleased. It dawned on me that I had skipped out on her class yesterday. Before I could say anything to her, she spoke. "The principle would like to see you after you and Louise are done with your meals." And with that, she turned and left le Dining Hall.

"What was that about?" Guiche asked as he intently stared after Katra. I smacked the back of his head to turn it back to his meal. But it was a valid question. I was being called to the office too often without things blowing up (inside school that is) to warrant so many. I finished my breakfast and said my farewells as Louise and I made our way to the principles office.

"What do you think he wants this time?" Louise asked as we ascended the staircase.

"I don't know. He usually gives students a few abscesses without a call up. A singular skipped class doesn't usually warrant this." I said as I knocked on the door.

"Come in." Osmond said from the other side. As I opened the door, I saw Mrs. Longueville at her desk and Katra standing in front of the principle. I was thoroughly confused, but I lined up with my sister to await the reason why I was here.

"Saito, do you know why you're here this morning?" Osmond asked his opening question.

"No sir, I can't say that I do."

"You see, we just had 25 cases of missing personal cases solved when they all showed up at the gate early this morning in horse drawn carriages. They all said they had been kept at Mott Manor under a contract I had no say in, and they all said they were let go because of one Lord Hiraga. Now, knowing that it couldn't be Madame Hiraga here, or your brother or father, which left you. And as Madame Hiraga has informed me, you were missing from your water magic studies class yesterday. Now, would you mind explaining to me how and why you did this?" Osmond asked with genuine interest. I looked over at my sister, and I saw she held the same stance.

So I told them of how I had requested some things from Siesta, and when she hadn't shown up, I went to investigate. Have then learning of Count Mott's yearly 'hiring', and subsequent keeping. I explained how I had used the day to negotiate a trade, which he had agreed to. I ended with Louise, Siesta, and I coming back via my spell, not wanting to involve the five boy's brawl. Osmond looked impressed, Katra, shocked.

"You mean to tell me that you used a spell correctly, with out it blowing up?" She asked me, to which I nodded. "And _you_ mean to tell me that my younger brother is a _void_ mage?" She directed at the principle.

"That is exactly right. And Saito has not only shown to be proficient at it, but also as a hard bargainer. For a missed class, I would say he had plenty of learning. Little Louise as well." Osmond finished with a smile.

"I would prefer not to be called 'little'." Louise said in a murmur, looking down.

"Of course, Miss Louise. Now, Saito, could you explain to me why you requested first year equipment for your familiar?" Osmond asked me. It was time for me to be confused once again.

"Sir? I thought Katra would have already told you of Louise's magic potential." I said, looking at my sister. For all things, she was actually looking nervous.

"Katra?" Osmond asked, cocking one of his brows up. "Would you like to explain?"

She fidgeted for a second and then sighed. "When I was treating Louise for magical backup, I noticed that her summoning spell didn't drain all of the excess magic. Since that didn't happen, it means that has magical talents of her own." Katra admitted. It was as I had expected, Louise could use magic now because of some outside source.

"And you assumed that she would become a student here?" Osmond asked me.

"Well," I hesitated, "Yes and no. I was going to ask for you to enroll her as a first year, and if you said no, I would teach her personally." All four people in the room looked at me in shock. Even though Mrs. Longueville had never talked to me personally, my exploits of failure were widely known. So the prospect of me actually _teaching_ seemed rather ludicrous. Which led to Old Osmond laughing.

"You are a persistent one Mr. Hiraga." Osmond said after he could breathe again. "I'll agree to enroll Louise at the academy."

"You will?" was the general question, with varying degrees of tone. Mine of excitement, Louise's of confusion, and Katra's of surprise.

"I will. Just so we won't have more than one catastrophe happening at one time." Osmond winked at me. "Now, all we will have to do is fine the miss a wand." Osmond said as he stood.

"Actually sir," Louise spoke up. "I don't think that will be necessary."

"Oh? Why so?" Osmond asked in surprise.

"Because I'm all she needs." Derf said as he slid from his sheath. It shocked everyone in the room. Myself because I had completely forgotten that Derf was as much a part of Louise as my own sword was, always there, no questions. Katra voiced her own shock.

"You? But you're a sword, you can't be made to direct magic."

"I can and will." Derf said defensively. Osmond had walked around his desk to get a better view of Derf.

"Is this what I think it is?"

"Derflinger, sword of the Gandalfr." Derf announced with pride. "You can call me Derf."

"My, my. I had no idea your sword was _the_ sword. In that case, I'll go with your judgment, Derf."

"Bu-But…" Katra said, lost.

"Have you seen that Guiche kid?" Derf asked Katra, "He uses a rose for goodness sake, I think my partner here can use a sword for magic."

"But that would take a huge amount of effort! Even just tuning magic to a sword is hard; it takes years of practice and discipline. To just say that you can channel magic is preposterous!" Katra exclaimed, losing her composure.

"Well then prove it." I said, making both Katra and Louise look at me. "Look, if Derf is confident he can do it, I believe him, but a test of doing so should settle the matter."

"But Saito! I don't know any magic." Louise complained.

"Really? Then how did you summon up Derf in the first place?" I smiled at her.

"I don't know! I was delirious, I didn't know what I was doing, I just-"

"Did what felt natural?" I finished for her. "Then do it again. Come on, let's go to the field, I'm sure we can settle this." I said as I headed to the door.

"And that, I agree to completely." Osmond said as he followed behind me. That got the three women to follow after us.

…

Apparently a group of five people with varying degrees of fame don't go unnoticed. By the time we got to the fields, we had a crowd as big as the time Louise and I had our sparring match. To say the least for myself, it was unnerving. And I could see it was getting to Louise.

"S-Saito, I don't want to do this anymore." She whispered as she clutched onto my sleeve tighter.

"Don't worry, pretend they're not even there." I tried to comfort her. It didn't work.

"That's not what I mean! I don't want to do this magic thing at all. It just feels wrong to do."

"Come on partner, just do what feels natural." Derf tried cheering her up.

"You can just shut up. You're the one who got me into this in the first place." Louise hissed over her shoulder.

"Mrs. Louise, if you could draw your sword please." Mrs. Longueville asked politely. Louise sighed heavily and drew Derf from his sheath. She stepped foreword a bit and turned to the principle.

"So what am I supposed to do?" She asked confidently. I could see the slight shaking, though.

"Whatever you feel like doing." Osmond waved off. "We're just here to see if you can use magic through Derf." An idea struck me.

"How about another spar Louise?" I asked as I stepped toward her.

"Another?" Katra asked, looking dangerously at me.

"Why not?" I asked, trying to ignore the murderous glare from my sister. "We have such a crowd, and from our last spar, it does clear the mind. I could see it as a performance and a preparation."

"Do what you want." Osmond said as he started moving towards the crowd.

"But sir!" Katra protested.

"I would move back if I were you, Miss Hiraga. I wouldn't want to be caught up in such a duel." Osmond said without turning back. Katra took one more glance at me and hurried off. I stood across from Louise, sword drawn.

"Are you ready?" I asked.

"As ever." She replied. As Mrs. Longueville called a start, I went in with a mid swing. Louise easily deflected and swung up my arm. I moved back and we got into our sword dance. I felt so fluid sparring with Louise; I completely forgot that this was supposed to be for her admittance to the school. I don't even think Louise remembered either.

But even with this, it started to get tiresome. We were trading blow for blow, with no variance. So I decided to throw a wrench into the works. A wand and incantation was necessary for a long journey, but not a short jump. So after I had just gotten out of a sword lock, I mentally indicated to arrive behind Louise, and there I was, with her back to me. I swung at her calf, but she realized what I had done, and deflected my blow, albeit, clumsily. From there, I came in at her side, but she expected me, and took a lunging stab at me. I appeared in front of her at the ready as she recovered.

We both smiled, and we took up the spar a notch. I would come at her as normal, but suddenly disappear for her to figure out where I had gone, and not always behind her. She was obviously getting angry and desperate, which was good. I was making her touch her inner self while she only focused on me, and not the crowd surrounding us. She finally snapped and took one swing at me. I jumped back and she stopped halfway through her swing.

"Explosion!" She shouted at me. I didn't see it coming. Not a spark or any heat wave, it was like the air in front of me spontaneously combusted. I flew backwards and landed on my back. As I lifted myself onto my elbows to make sure she wasn't coming, I saw she was leaning on Derf, breathing heavily.

I heard a slow clap, and I looked over to see Old Osmond clapping. "Well done, I would say you both did quite well." And with that, the roar of the crowd came quickly.


	13. Two Meetings

**Two Meetings:**

The next week flew by in a blur. Louise was quickly becoming popular amongst the first years, I wasn't blowing up as many things in school (but not entirely avoiding it), and Kirche had moved on from me (thankfully). Louise and I had had plenty of time to spar, in that time; we were both very eager to test the use of our spells. Turns out, the sparing was good for Louise, Derf, and myself. Who knew a sword could get stressed?

Siesta and the others from Mott Manor had been hired back on, and the school showed to be running smoother because of it. In fact, it gave the working staff breaks in their day, giving Siesta, Louise, and I time to socialize. Which leads to the afternoon snack we were having today.

"And then he wanted me to make sure that none of the others found out about it." Siesta finished. We all had a laugh, and Louise kept on.

"Man, who would think I would have that many admirers." She said, wiping away a tear. "I don't think I would have learned this much back home." She sighed. That froze me up.

I had completely forgotten, Louise had to go home. But now it was getting harder, she had friends here now, and the longer she stayed, the less I wanted her to go. But how was I going to do it? I had no idea where I had summoned her from, or how to send her back. But maybe, with the right description…

"Saito!" I heard Louise yell. I snapped to attention.

"What? What is it?" I asked, dazed and confused.

"We've been trying to get your attention for the last five minutes." Siesta said. "It's time for the princess to show up."

"Yeah, you're the one who wanted to be there so much, and now we're running late. Come on." Louise prompted, pulling on my shirt. I had almost forgotten. Besides sparring with Louise, I had been awaiting this day all week. Louise and I got up and thanked Siesta for her time and headed off, leaving her to clean up.

As we got to the main entrance, there was already a crowd and the red carpet had been rolled out. There was a lot of tension in the air because the princess had yet to show up. I had assumed that Louise and I were probably not going to be anywhere near the front, so I had thought up of something before hand. I looked down to Louise, who nodded and grabbed my hand. I took out my wand and teleported up to the top of the gate.

It wasn't ideal or very wide, but it was big enough for sitting space. And before any of the other students saw us, Louise drew Derf and helped me with a camouflage spell. As it turned out, with the two of us working together, a lot of the simpler spells didn't blow up in our faces. Now no one would be able to see us from either side of the wall unless we moved ten feet away from this spot. Louise sheathed Derf and sighed.

"I'm still not used to doing this whole magic thing yet."

"Don't worry, you'll get a hang of it eventually." I said, feeling a twang of guilt pass through me.

"Look! I think that's it!" Louise said, pointing down the road. I peered after where she was pointing, and I could see the royal carriage coming down the road, barely.

"Dang Louise, you have a good eye, because that's defiantly the carriage." I smiled at her.

"It's a gift." She shrugged. We watched as the carriage approach as we dangled our feet over the side of the wall. We got into discussing how princesses worked back where Louise came from, sending another shiver down my spine. Wait.

I feel guilt about taking Louise, not morbid fear. I looked back at the carriage and looked carefully. I was right, not only were there horses pulling the carriage, there were also knight-mounted horses. I couldn't tell from this distance, but I could feel there was something wrong with the escort.

"Is there something wrong Saito?" Louise asked, looking a bit worried.

"You don't look so well pal." Derf commented.

"I-I'm fine. Anyways, what was that about princesses being kidnapped by giant mutant turtles?" We kept going until we heard the fanfare blow. We snapped to attention as the carriage passed underneath us. We turned around as the carriage stopped at the red carpet and the princess got out.

She was in a white dress long sleeves and a magenta cloak. She had the silver crown of the Tristain princess adorning her magenta hair that fell to her shoulders. She was holding her scepter as she was helped down by the reason the shivers were running up and down my back.

My brother Shin helped the princess down from her carriage and escorted her to the steps that had the principle waiting. I didn't hear the speech that Princess Henrietta gave for the opening of the familiar exhibition; I was to focused on Shin. He was in light armor with his raven black hair around his ears. He kept glaring around for anyone to make a wrong move. I could see his hand twitching toward his sword for the slightest disturbance, and then I saw him glance up towards Louise and I. I could swear he was holding my gaze, but the sudden uproar from the crowd of students broke our contact.

I saw the principle bow and lead the princess inside, Shin following them. The crowd soon dispersed and it was only Louise and I sitting on top of the gate as the workers came in and rolled up the red carpet.

"Saito?" I heard Louise distantly, a hand being waved in front of my face. "Hey Saito!" I heard a bit closer this time. "Saito!" I heard in my ear accompanied with a pain in my side.

"Ow! Louise, what was that for?" I asked as I rubbed my wounded side. Apparently, Louise had to bunt me with Derf's hilt. But now I suddenly realized the sounds of birds chirping and the wind blowing. I hadn't noticed how hyper focused I had been.

"Like I have been trying to ask, what did the princess mean by familiar exhibition?" Louise fumed.

"Huh? Oh right, that. Well, first, let's head down. I don't want to be up here all day." I said as I grabbed Louise's hand, pulled out my wand, and stood up. "Teleport Dorm Room." I said as I flicked my wand. As soon as we materialized, Louise turned to me.

"So? Are you going to tell me what this familiar exhibition is supposed to be?"

"I honestly thought I told you." I said as I let my legs give out to fall onto the bed. I knew that I didn't have all that much brotherly love for Shin, but I didn't think I feared him enough to collapse under stress.

"Well, you didn't, so mind explaining?" Louise sad as she placed Derf against the table and sitting down at the table.

"Basically, a week or so after the familiar summoning, the royalty of Tristain come to see a performance of the new familiars. It gives a show to the other years and shows just how well the summoner works with their familiar. This is actually the first time our nations princess, Henrietta, is presiding." I explained.

"Why is it her first year?" Louise asked. That came at me out of the blue; I was expecting her to get angry about being shown off like a pet. "If it's supposed to be a show, why hasn't the king or queen brought her to see it before? I mean, sure, both the king and queen be out at the same time, but why not entertain their daughter?"

I took a quick intake of breath. Louise noticed with a look of concern and confusion. "Well, up until last year, and all years previous, the king always came alone, to keep the security spread even. But last year, he was lost. None of us actually know what happened to him. One day he complained of a headache during court and retired. The next, he was gone with only a blood soaked carpet as evidence. There were no traces of anyone else in the room or any magic that would have taken him. The queen has slowly losing grip on her kingdom, so Princess Henrietta started taking on power. So, as main holder of power, she's doing her duty to observe up coming mages." I explained, grimly. Louise just looked stunned from all the politics I just dropped on her. I was so focused on her, that I barely heard the hesitant knocks on the door. I got up, steadied myself on the bed frame, and opened the door a crack.

As I did, the door was shoved heavily aside and a cloaked figure came in. I chuckled a little and leaned against the door until it closed. I knew that strength and those tactics. But as I turned around I got serious, Louise was holding the figure at blade tip, unwavering.

"Put it down Louise. She's our guest." I said as I pushed Derf down lightly from around the figure.

"But he jut barged in!" Louise said shocked at me.

"I don't think 'he' is the right term, do you agree Henrietta?"

"I would say not." Henrietta said as she lowered the hood of her brown cloak. Louise's jaw dropped, along with dropping Derf. He hit with a loud clang and a rant at no one, but he shut up when he noticed the three above him weren't listening. "So Saito, would like to introduce me to your friend here?" Henrietta asked over her shoulder. I could see a smile crossing her face, and it wasn't one I liked. I quickly came around to stand next to Louise.

"Louise, this is Princess Henrietta of Tristain, who I have known since childhood." I said, indicating the princess, who gave a light curtsy. "And Princess, this is Louise Vallière, my familiar." I said as I indicated her. Louise snapped out of her trance of shock long enough to curtsy in return.

"Your familiar, really?" Henrietta asked, curious. "I don't think I quite remember that ever happening before."

I smiled as I walked back to the bed and sat down. I hadn't realized it, but the weakness had come back from that sudden exchange. "I think everyone has, and has simply forgotten the small details. You _do_ remember the Founder, right Henrietta?"

"Of course I do." She fumed at my arrogance. "Everyone knows of the Founder, unless they were raised under a rock." Henrietta said as she took Louise's chair. She didn't mind however, as she was still trying to register the natural flow our conversation had taken as she picked up Derf.

"And his familiar was?"

"An… Elf." She stopped. "You're not telling me you're actually-" She stopped herself, and started cracking up. I frowned. I was expecting about the same reaction of Louise finding out I knew Henrietta, not this. "Y-You can't _really_ be serious." She chuckled.

"Serious as anyone Yer Majesty." Derf said as he slid out of the sheath Louise had just put him back in. She turned around and look at Louise and Derf.

"Did that sword just _talk?_" She asked bewildered, turning to look at Derf. She was getting where I was expecting.

"Uh, yes, he did." Louise said, still in a half shocked state. I don't think the princess talking to her was helping the recovery.

"Where did you get it?" She asked, more persistent. I saw a twinkle in her eye now. I knew where this was going, and I wanted to see how it played out.

"Um, I summoned him, sort of." Louise started to mumble. I was actually pleasantly surprised how shy she was getting from all of this.

"You _summoned_ him?" She turned back to me. "That means she can use magic to?" I just nodded, smiling. Henrietta got up and hugged Louise, which I think blew her brain a bit. I think I could even see the smoke. "You are just amazing!"

"I'm what?" Louise asked confused.

"She's what?" I asked, a little disappointed, and confused myself.

"Don't you two see? Not only is she the Gandalfr, but she can also use magic! That's like two birds with one stone." Henrietta said as she let Louis go.

"Wait," I said, "how did you know about Louise having the Gandalfr?"

"In fact, what is a Gandalfr? I keep hearing the word, but what is it?" Louise asked, coming around. Henrietta sat back down in her chair and Louise took a set next to me.

"Well Louise," I started to explain (seemed like I was doing this a lot today), "the Gandalfr is an ability of the Founder's familiar. It is said that his familiar had four special abilities imbued upon it. The Gandalfr is the ability to master any weapon." I then turned to Henrietta. "But how did you come to that conclusion?"

"Well if you think a little harder, you will also remember that there was one weapon the Founder's familiar always carried. It was said to strike down any mage that came against the Founder and gave advice when needed. That was a sword, and you don't find many talking, advice giving, swords these days, do you Saito?"

"No." I admitted, remembering that I had thought Derf to be a golem the first time I heard him.

"So, when was the last time someone had this power besides the Founder's familiar?" Louise asked. I actually had to think about that for a second.

"Um, Henrietta?" I asked. I couldn't remember if there had been any others.

"If I can remember, there was one about 400 years ago, I think. Other than that, none." She shrugged. "It isn't all that often a void mage pops up."

"And you're not surprised in the slightest that I turned out to be one?" I asked seriously. I was still hurt a little from the lack of a reaction.

"Well, it shocked me the first time I figured it out." She admitted.

"The first time?" I asked, confused.

"Well, when you show up at Mott Manor in the middle of the night with no horse and disappear in the blink of an eye, it's not all that hard to figure out."

"How did you find out about that?" Louise asked. "I wouldn't think that Mott would have talked to anybody about that."

"And he didn't." Henrietta nodded. "No, it was his butler, Dylanmond. After he had heard that half of the maid staff had been released from contracts, he looked into the Manor's records and found that Mott had been swindling from his province since the moment he was put in charge. He ran into some of the previous maids and made a case to the court with full details on you two." Henrietta smiled. "I never thought of Saito being so prude."

"He did it for a girl." Derf said before I could shove him back in his sheath.

"And that would just about explain everything." Henrietta's smile grew wider, and looked a bit sadder for some reason. She stood up as well as Louise and myself. "It's been nice to see you again Saito. And it's been excellent meeting you Louise."

"It's been nice seeing you again to Princess." I said.

"It has been nice to meet you, Your Majesty." Louise said politely.

"Please, Henrietta is fine." She said.

"Yes Princess." I said mockingly.

"I said Henrietta is fine, Lord Hiraga." Henrietta said with mock anger. But she had a point; I didn't like that formality either.

"Sure thing Henrietta." I said apologetically.

"Good." She smiled. Then there was a very persistent rapping on the door.

"Come in, it's unlocked." I called out.

The doorknob twisted and the door flew open, and all of my strength left me again. Shin was standing at the door, knob in fist, placid anger on his face.


	14. Finding Courage

**Finding Courage and To Do What's Right:**

"Shin, it's nice to s-see you." I said, almost suppressing my stutter. He didn't seem to care though as he looked down to the princess.

"Princess Henrietta, it is most difficult to protect you when you sneak away unnoticed." He said in his regular monotone.

"And I wouldn't have to sneak away if you let me go where I pleased." Henrietta replied with a bored tone. This was the best way to address my brother; otherwise it was easy to lose your head. Figuratively and sometimes literally. "I had told you where I had intended on going."

"And I appreciate the sentiments to visit my brother, but you must be under protection at all times."

"And Saito isn't enough?" Henrietta asked. Shin gave me a short glance over, to which I straightened up.

"No." Shin said simply, but then Louise caught his eye. "She, on the other hand, could be a liability." He said as he started to draw his sword.

"Hey now!" I burst out. Shin gave a mild look of surprise, which was more than enough encouragement to go on. "Louise is not a liability to _anyone's_ safety. Certainly not mine or Henrietta's. She is my familiar, and can be trusted as much as I can be. And-" I said as I walked over to Shin. "I'm more than enough to protect the princess in a highly secured institution. If something were to happen to her here, I would blame you more than myself." I was glaring up at him. Shin stood a good half-foot above me, but this blatant disregard for me was to much.

Shin just looked down at me. "Fine then, then I expect an excellent exhibition from you and your familiar. Princess." He said as he looked over me. "We must go."

Henrietta just sighed. "Fine, let us return." She said as she stood and proceeded to the door. "I hope to see you two again." And with that, she left with Shin without a word more. With the anger gone, I collapsed to my knees.

"Saito!" Louise said as she knelt down beside me. "What's wrong?"

"N-Nothings wrong, per-se. But I think was the most I've said to my brother in nearly six years." I said as I hobbled to my feet. Louise slung my arm around herself as she helped me back to the bed. As I flopped down, she sat on the side, still concerned.

"What could make you hate your brother so much to not speak with him in six years?" She asked.

"Angry?" I asked as I propped myself up on my elbows. "That was just a fit. I'm deathly scared for my life when it comes to Shin."

"It didn't look that way to me." Louise said as she looked at me with doubt. I just sighed and laid down again.

"I don't know when Shin became like that. Early on, he was a great guy, always helping me with my failed attempts at magic with Katra, looking after me when mother and father were gone. Even after going through his military training, he still had high spirits. But one day, after not seeing him for the regular three months, he was different. He wanted to spar with me, which was fine, we did it all the time, but that time he was ruthless. He held nothing back, beat me even when I fell, and just taunted how weak I was. It was only after Katra broke it off did he stop. After that, he's been as cold and as indifferent as a brick wall. You remember when the guards at Count Mott's recognized the name Hiraga right?"

"Yeah, I do. That nearly paled into being ghosts." Louise confirmed.

"That's how infamous Shin's training regiment is. Anyone who is in his unit is either a hardened veteran or have nothing to lose. When someone not like that ends up there, they either transfer or quit the military." I propped myself up again and looked into Louise's eyes. She was scared and concerned for me. "I am _dead _afraid of that man. What I just did, I thought I was unable of even thinking about. But the minute he saw you as a threat, he also saw you as disposable. And I just had to stop that."

Louise smiled slightly and looked down. "Thank you." I heard her whisper.

"No problem." I sighed and flopped back down.

…

I woke up the next morning, not even realizing that I had fallen asleep. I was still in my clothes from yesterday, so I grumbled and turned over in the bed to get up. And then I remembered I had a cot. I also had turned to face Louise, who was in yet another one of my shirts, fast asleep.

Apparently she didn't want to take the cot or wake me up, so she just decided to leave me. I was both touched by her thoughtfulness to let me sleep, and a bit miffed that she still decided to take the bed. I slowly turned the other way to get off of the bed, but Louise's subconscious decided at that moment I was something comfy, and decided to wrap Louise around me.

Now, this would be very easy to get out of. Except for the fact that I did not for the life of me want Louise to wake up to her over me. That would just make today all the more awkward and hard to go through.

But I wasn't the first one to make this situation worse. Oh no, apparently, Louise had grown up where people _don't_ lock the doors, because Siesta came in with my recent collection of clothes, to find the two of us in bed. I could visibly tell that Siesta was flushing with embarrassment and trying to quickly close the door. I was only barely able to wave her down. She stopped the door at a crack and reopened the door.

I don't know how, but I was able to get across that I wanted out of where I was, _now._ Siesta came in and placed the basket down on the table and came over to the bed. I gave my best pleading look, and Siesta smiled back down with sympathy. She was able to coax Louise's arms off of me, and I got out from under there as flexibly possible. I pointed to the door and she followed me out. I softly closed the door and turned to Siesta.

"First off, it's not what you think." I whispered hurriedly.

"Oh? And what do you think I think it is?" She said with a small smile.

"With the way you flushed, nothing good." I said flatly. Siesta did that weird thing where Louise had two conflicting emotions, anger and embarrassment. I could see both of them, but neither seemed to be following the same train of thought.

"Well, you have your clothes, so I'll see you later Saito." She huffed and turned to leave.

"Wait Siesta!" I said as I grabbed her sleeve. She turned around with a red flush; I couldn't tell from embarrassment, anger, or sadness, her emotions were a complete mess. "Thank you for getting me out of there." I smiled kindly. She smiled slightly back, and left.

I sighed as I stood in the hallway. I leaned against the wall and slid down until I was sitting on the floor. How could I let Shin's mere presence affect me like that? It had been six years since that beating; some things must have changed since then. Maybe Katra could help me weasel the problem out.

I got up and went back inside my room. Louise was still fast asleep, so I changed while she was out. After I had finished, I heard Louise start grumbling. I looked over and saw that the sun had finally fallen on her face, so I assumed that she was finally getting up.

"What… there can't be… two… -other portal?" She mumbled in her sleep. The sun must have really been messing with her, so to alleviate her stress, I started to shake her awake.

"Hey sleepyhead, time to wake up." Louise's eyes half opened and she gave a dreamy smile. She leapt up and threw her arms around me and I could feel a sigh of relief come out of her. Then I felt a rough shove as I stumbled away from her.

"And what do you think you're doing?" Louise asked, now fully awake.

"Just waking you up. I was going to ask the same question though. What were you just dreaming about?" I asked as I stood with my back against the wall. Louise scratched her head.

"Um, it was some weird dream where I was walking down the street when a big green hole came out of nowhere and swallowed me whole. But then there was a sharp turn and everything went from black to red, and then I was flung into myself. It was all very weird." She waved the subject off. "Anyways, can you look away now? I would like to have my privacy." I immediately obliged and faced the wall.

But that gave me time to think. That dream was a bit to vivid to have been made up, but it was also to ridiculous to be a fabrication on an actual event. Maybe she was abducted before and blocked it? But there was the entire meeting herself, which made no sense whatsoever. A mirror? But she made it sound like that wasn't possible, from the way she was muttering. Maybe she was-

"Are you going to examine that wall all day, or can we go get some breakfast?" Louise said. I lost my train of thought and turned. I was shocked to see her in her old clothes.

"What's the occasion?" I asked, genuinely confused.

"Well, if I'm to give a performance today, isn't something a bit different nice to give an impression?" She asked reasonably.

"But, you don't even know what you're going to do." I said, failing to see where she was going with this. Heck, I didn't even know what she was going to do, I had focused on Henrietta coming to school, not what she was actually here to do.

"We're sword fighting aren't we? It's all we've done all week together. Besides, we could rub it in your brother's face." She got an evil little grin. I even think I got one to, because we made our way down to breakfast discussing how we were going to pull this off.

Even as we made it into the Dinning Hall, we talked in whispers between bites. It might be an Exhibition, but that didn't mean the others needed to know. I did glimpse a worried look from Katra, so to settle her worries; I smiled a genuine smile and waved. She breathed a sigh of relief and went back to eating. And it was genuine, because what Louise and I had come up with was sure to blow everyone away, maybe even Shin.

After breakfast, Louise and I headed separate ways for morning classes. They would be short, just telling us what to study and practice for next time, because afterward was going to be the exhibition. I had water studies with Katra, who just told us to try manipulating a stream of water without a wand, and try to heal minor wounds. If we could demonstrate we could do both by next class, that person would pass manipulation and be moved onto formation.

When she let out class, she grabbed my sleeve and held me back. "Saito, have you met Shin yet?" Katra asked, clearly still worried.

"I'm fine sis. I did meet with him yesterday, but I did fine. He's cooled off." I said reassuringly.

"I don't know. I saw him at the opening, and he looked like he was ready to snap at the first person who sneezed wrong." I couldn't help but chuckle a little. I don't know whether it was out of fear or if I was actually amused.

"He is the captain of Henrietta's personal escort right now, of course he's going to be on edge. The amazing part is that he didn't snap when he found Henrietta in a enclosed room with Louise."

"OH MY GOD! Is Louise all right?" Katra asked, scared for Louise's life. She was clutching my sleeves in a death grip, so I barely got her into a comforting hug.

"You saw her this morning at breakfast, she's fine. Besides, I think Shin was surprised when I stood my ground against him." Katra held me out at arms length again.

"You stood your ground against Shin?" I nodded, and she smiled softly. "Who are you, and what have you done with my brother?" She asked softly as she pulled me into a bear hug. When she let go, I could see the beginnings of tears. "Go give one hell of a show, bro."

"Will do." I said as I gave Katra one last hug and left the class and went down to the lawn. Louise was already waiting at the entrance.

"What took you so long?"

"I had to comfort my sister a little." I said as I headed off to the left.

"Where are you going?" Louise asked as she caught up. I didn't have to answer though, because we soon came across the stage for the exhibition. "Where did this come from? It wasn't here yesterday."

"You think to little of magic of then. Not all nobility sit on their butts all day counting money like Mott. Some go to work for practical use, like construction. Sure, they'll still hold noble titles, but having a relationship with your masses is necessary. Commoner work helps build that trust."

"You mean like what Katra does?" Louise inquired.

"Exactly. So, as you can see, all of this was set up yesterday."

"Dang, I was planning on our flat field." Louise said as she bit her finger in thought; when she glanced over at me, she got even more concerned. "Saito, where's your sword?"

"Huh?" I said as I checked my hip. Sure enough, my sword wasn't there. "Well, now seems as good a time as any, seeing as we don't have time for me to run to my room." I pulled out my wand, and Louise instantly took two steps to the side. "Oh come on, I'm getting better." I raised my wand forewords. "Come Sword." I said as I flicked my wand back. There was a bang and a puff black smoke in my face. I hacked a little and stepped back.

"Not as good as you thought." Louise said as she came back to me.

"Well, the outcome needs work, but at least I have- aw come on." I groaned as I looked down at my sword. Instead of it's healthy bronze sheen, it was now charcoal black and broken in three separate pieces, the hilt and two halves of the blade.

"Note to self: don't need to be summoned." Louise said innocently. I grabbed the handle of my sword, but it wasn't just black as charcoal, it _was_ charcoal. It crumbled as soon as I got a firm enough grasp on it.

"Well," I said optimistically, "I guess I'll just have to make a new one." I stepped back and pointed my wand at the ground and started to concentrate.

"Ok, good, just get another one so we can… wait, what!" Louise finally reacted. "Oh no you don't, you could make a sinkhole for all we know, you could even-" Just then, there was a huge rumble throughout the field. "Cause an earthquake?!"

"I didn't do it, I swear." I said as I raised my wand up, when another tremor came through.

"Well if you're not, then who is?" Louise asked looking around. I looked as well, and when the third tremor hit, I saw chunks of rock blasting out a high speeds from behind the central tower.

"Over there!" I pointed and started running. Louise was close behind me, and when we rounded around the tower, we saw a huge earth golem taking swings at the central tower.


	15. To Catch A Thief

**To Catch A Thief:**

"What is that thing and what is it trying to do?" Louise asked.

"That would be an earth golem trying to break into the central tower." I said calmly out of sheer profoundness. It made no sense, where it was hitting was where the vault was, so it was obviously after the schools funds, but there were easier places to get money from than here. On top of the fact that the princess was here with her guard, this was a suicide mission. The caster must have known that, because he still didn't recognize that there were now two witnesses to the crime.

"Hey you!" Louise shouted. The golem turned to look at us, so never mind a sneak attack. "What do you think you're doing?" Instead of a response, the golem raised its hand and came slamming down on us. I tackled Louise to the side as the hand hit the ground.

"What do you think _you're_ doing!" I shouted as I held myself above Louise. "That thing now knows we're here and is probably going to try and kill us now!"

"Look out!" Louise shouted as she grabbed me and pulled me toward her as the golem's hand swung above us. I groaned.

"Fine, we'll leave the argument for later. Right now try and find the caster. He has to be close by to control something that huge." We rolled apart as the golem's second hand came to slam on us. We stood up and ran in opposite directions around it, Louise behind, myself in front. It seemed confused for a second, but then smashed its fist against the wall above me, making ruble from its hand fall above me. Apparently we didn't register as a threat, but I had to dodge the debris; otherwise the chunks were big enough to knock me unconscious.

"Saito! He's on the shoulder to your left!" Louise called from behind. I glanced to the indicated point, and sure enough, there was a hooded figure standing there, conducting the golems movements. Unfortunately, that glance distracted me long enough for a chunk of rock the size of my fist to drop on my left shoulder. I couldn't be sure, but I think I heard a crack, and I couldn't feel my left arm any more.

Now was a decision between fight and flight. Do I pull my sword and try to fight my way up, or do I take out my wand to run. Then I remembered that I had incinerated my sword, so I drew out my wand. I flicked it foreword and was standing next to the figures right. I still couldn't see his face, but I saw his body react in shock to my sudden disappearance. I clutched my wand in a fist and was getting ready to strike when…

"Explosion!" Louise shouted, and the figure and I turned to our left to see Derf pointed at us. I ducked, as well did the figure, and the wall behind us exploded. All three of us looked at the hole in aw. I don't know how long the golem had been smashing at the wall, but there hadn't been a chip in the wall. But now there was a gaping hole in the wall, and that had almost hit me.

The figure recovered first and ran down the golems arm, which had been placed at the bottom of the hole, making its arm a bridge. I saw the figure run in, grab a black box, and run back to the hand. The golem then catapulted its master over the compounds wall and into the forest. I then started to feel the ground beneath me start to give way, and I fell.

I closed my eyes and waited for the hard impact of earth, but instead, I felt a soft landing. I opened up my eyes to look up into Louise's.

"Well, this is a bit backwards." I said.

"Not really, I am supposed to protect my master after all." Louise said calmly as she let me stand.

"After endangering my life?" I asked, looking down at her. She looked down and away.

"You weren't supposed to be up there." She mumbled.

"We have got to work on coordination next." I sighed, rubbing my left shoulder. It felt wet, so I looked at my hand. It was red with blood.

"Saito! You're bleeding!" Louise exclaimed as she reached out to touch my shoulder.

"Don't!" I exclaimed as I grabbed her hand with my bloody one. She looked scared. "We shouldn't do anything do disrupt it's condition. I don't feel any pain right now, so that's a blessing and a curse. On one hand, that means we can get to Katra without me writhing in agony. On the other hand, this is probably very serious."

"Well then let's get you to your sister." Louise said calmly as she gripped my hand. She looked up at me with eyes that both looked on the verge of tears and determined to see me through this. I smiled at her, trying to be comforting.

"Halt you two!" I heard a man call, accompanied by metal clinking of armor. I looked around to see about eleven guards surrounding the pile of dirt Louise and I were currently standing on. This probably did not look to good when you're wounded and standing under a broken vault.

"Saito, what do you think you're doing?" Shin asked as he came closer. "You know stealing from this school is stealing from Tristain." He said in his monotone as he glanced between Louise and I.

"Stealing?" Louise screamed, making me wince a bit from how close I was to her. "We weren't stealing! We were the ones trying to stop the theft!" Shin didn't seem convinced, and his hand was already gripped around the hilt of his sword.

"What is going on here?" Katra asked as she rounded the central building. "I was coming out of the tower when I heard an explo- Oh my god! Saito, you're bleeding!" She started to run toward us, but two guards stopped her, or tried at least. "Get out of my way! My brother is hurt!" She said as she pushed both guards aside and made a small blast of flame, pushing both guards onto their backs, proceeded by rock clamps keeping their arms down.

Shin looked at Katra with his same bored expression. "Katra, Saito is currently under suspicion of theft from Tristain, I can't allow him-"

"Allow him what Shin? Medical treatment? Is this just like you wouldn't allow Saito to stop your fight when you beat him half to death six years ago?" Katra exploded in front of Shin. She was right in his face, full of rage. "I don't know what happened to you, and I don't know if it was for better or worse, but by the Founder, you should at least still have a soul. And if you cared to keep up on your siblings, you would know Saito isn't the type to steal." And with that, Katra stamped up the mound to us. She switched from rage to concern in two seconds. "How's your arm feel Saito?"

"I can't feel it Katra. And I'm pretty sure that's not a good thing." I said.

"No, no it's not. Have you moved it or tried to heal it yourself?" She asked, examining the wound. I just looked at her.

"You honestly think I would try to heal _anything_?" I asked. Katra looked back up at me and smiled.

"Well, it doesn't look like you took any damage to your head." Katra said. She then looked at Louise, who was still holding my hand. "Can you tell me what happened while I work? I don't want Saito to move while I do this." So Louise went into the explanation of how we had come across the theft in progress. How we had tried to stop the thief, and even admitted to making the hole. Katra took this all in as she worked on my arm. When she was done, she sighed and sat on her knees. "I didn't actually think Fouquet would strike today."

"Who?" Louise and I asked. Katra didn't answer, but instead stood and turned to Shin, who had stood by patiently.

"Shin, collect the princess and meet us in Osmond's office. This was the work of Fouquet, and we need everyone to be in the loop." Shin just nodded and signaled the guard to follow him. Katra turned back to us. "How's your shoulder now Saito?"

I gave my arm a spin back and forth a few times. "It's fine Katra, thank you. Now, mind explaining this Fouquet business?"

"When we get everyone together." Was all she said as she walked down the mound. I started following, but Louise held me back by my hand.

"What's wrong Louise?"

"N-Nothing." She said, apparently lost in thought. "This all just seems familiar, like something I saw before."

"Well, come on. I don't think you want to hold on to a bloody hand forever." I kindly smiled. She came down without a word and actually started pulling me along.

…

After a short stop to wash our hands of my blood, Katra, Louise and I arrived at the principles office. As we entered, Shin and Henrietta were already there, along with Professor Colbert, Mrs. Longueville, Kirche, and Tabitha. The last of the two really surprised me.

"All right, I get why my brother, the princess, and the staff are doing here, but what are you two doing here?" I asked the two as the door closed behind us.

"Well, I'm here for the interests Germania, while Tabitha was told to keep tabs by the Gallia court." Kirche answered in a serious tone. I had half expected her to say she was there for fun and had dragged Tabitha along. But given that Shin was here, there was going to be no horseplay.

"The Gallia Court?" Louise asked.

"One question at a time Louise." I said as I patted her on the head, as I glared at Shin. "Starting with who this Fouquet person is and why he stole from the schools vault."

"I believe I can answer that question the best." Osmond said, instantly gaining everyone's attention. "Over the past few months, Nobles and wealthy men have filled that there had been a break in into their private residences. All of them had the same method carried out. A hole was made in the ceiling, crumbling it to dirt, for only a single item, which was always of high value, and a fair amount of gold to be stolen. He had left behind notes, saying they had just been robbed by Fouquet of the Crumbling Dirt." And with that, Osmond pulled open one of his drawers and pulled out a note. "I found this where the Staff of Destruction had been held." Osmond handed the note over to Shin, who glanced over it quickly.

"Nothing out of the ordinary, it's just like the others. Handwritten without a trace of magic on it." He said as he handed the note back.

"But how can that be?" I asked, ignoring the look I was getting from my brother. "He was using magic right up to the point that he escaped. Even if he had written it without using magic, the residual use of the golem should have left something."

"Which leads me to believe Fouquet isn't your average thief. He has figured out how to conceal any trace of himself while performing intricate magic at the same time." Osmond said as he put the note away. "Fortunately for us though, we have been keeping a keen eye on our surroundings since the first instance. Mrs. Longueville, if you would please."

"Yes sir." Osmond's secretary said. "Ever since the first incident, we kept an eye on every suspicious action in a five mile radius. Over the last three days, there has been activity in an abandoned cabin three miles east of here. When we got surveillance out there, we got this pictorial description." As she said that, she pulled a sheet out from her pile and laid it on the Principles desk for all of us to see.

"That isn't much, but it defiantly looks like the man I was standing next to." I said, as I looked the headshot over. I saw surprise cross Mrs. Longueville's face, quickly followed by everyone else present.

"You were _what?_" Shin asked, a slight hint of anger coming through. "You were standing next to him and you _didn't_ restrain a wanted criminal?" He grabbed the front of my shirt.

"It's not my _fault_." I snarled back. "You try tackling a man with a useless left arm on unsteady ground after teleporting." I glared, and Shin glared right back. Shin let go of my shirt.

"At least we have a positive ID." He said as he reverted back to his monotone. I could physically feel the tension leave the room. I looked back and saw Kirche, Katra, Henrietta, and Louise all breathing a sigh of relief.

"How long would it take for a carriage to reach the cabin?" Henrietta asked, resuming her role of princess.

"No more than and hour or so." Mrs. Longueville replied.

"You're not planning on going, are you?" I asked her.

"She's not." Shin replied. "As the one who let a wanted criminal escape, I say you retrieve Fouquet and the Staff of Destruction, _brother._" Shin said, obviously straining the last part.

"And I fully intend to." I said carefully back. I knelt down in front of Henrietta. "Princess Henrietta, it would be my honor and responsibility to retrieve Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth. With your command, I will head out at once." I didn't have to look up to see that she was straining with the choice. I then felt Kirche and Tabitha kneel beside me.

"Princess Henrietta," Kirche said, "On the pride of Germania and the Zerbst family, I to wish to retrieve the thief of our school."

"As Chevalier, it is my duty." Tabitha said simply.

Henrietta finally sighed. "I see no reason to deny such reasons of apprehension. You have the right to bring in Fouquet of the Crumbling Earth to face his crimes against Tristain."

All three of us looked up at the same time and said "Thank you Princess."

"Now hold on." Katra said. "I have no objections for the apprehension, but Saito can't go so soon. I just reattached his shoulder muscle and joint together, he just can't go."

"Unacceptable." Shin said simply. "If we are to catch Fouquet quickly and efficiently, we must act now."

"I hate to say this, but I agree with Shin." I said, getting another round of surprised looks. "The sooner the better, and I believe in your healing Katra." I smiled, and she just sighed.

"Just don't do to much." She said.

"I won't." I promised. "Now, Mrs. Longueville, how about that carriage?"


	16. The Missile Thief

**The Missile Thief:**

Fifteen minutes after the gathering broke, Louise, Kirche, Tabitha, Mrs. Longueville, and myself were heading out the front gates. A closed carriage wasn't necessary, so we merely had a covered wagon, but it was good enough. Mrs. Longueville directed the wagon while the rest of us waited in the back. Tabitha was contenting herself by reading her book, while I had been squished between Louise and Kirche.

Tabitha's familiar, Sylphid, was a dragon, so she flew overhead. Flame, on the other hand, took up the rest of the side Tabitha was on. Seeing as he and Kirche had gotten in first, I think she had planned it out this way, because she was the only one who wasn't complaining about the cramped seating.

"Honestly Kirche, Sylphid is already coming along, did Flame need to too?" I asked, trying to subtly squirm away from how uncomfortably close her breasts were. I think she caught me, because I could feel her lean closer.

"But you're bringing Louise along as well, and she's _your_ familiar, so I was feeling left out." She pouted. It didn't quite carry though, because I saw a sly little glimmer in her eye. I couldn't tell if she actually _liked_ me, or liked _torturing_ me.

"Well, I'm sorry if my presence made you feel lonely." Louise said as she squirmed closer to me so she could get a little more seat room. "But I also let Fouquet get away, so I also have the same responsibility as Saito to catch him." She then looked a bit down cast. "I'm also the one who let him steal from the school."

That caught both Tabitha and Kirche's attention. Kirche leaned over me so she could get closer to Louise. "You did _what._" She said in complete aw.

"I-I kind of made the hole in the school which Fouquet stole from." Louise said in a smaller voice, retreating a bit behind her hair. Kirche sat back, looking totally taken aback.

"Holly Founder." She whispered. "Do you know what that means?" She asked as she rolled head to face Louise.

"That this is all my fault." Louise said defeatedly.

"Not that." Kirche said as she leaned foreword. "Louise, you blew a hole in a square class barrier. That's something that rarely ever happens in an instant. Something usually has to bash against that sort of thing for hours before a triangle spell can work. You should be proud of that power."

"But it accomplished his goal for him." Louise snapped at Kirche. Kirche jerked back a bit, seeing the tears forming. "I helped a thief steal something called the Staff of Destruction from a secure location, and it all comes down on Princess Henrietta. If anything happens in a government facility, it is always blamed on upper management, and I don't think Tristain is quite past the point of 'Blame everything on the Crown.' And to drop that kind of weight on her." Louise stopped, obviously getting upset over what she had done. I held her hand and squeezed gently. She looked up at me with expecting eyes.

"Don't worry so much. Henrietta is a strong princess, she wouldn't let something like this collapse Tristain." I smiled.

"But she's our age Saito!" She said exasprently. "No one our age should be running a kingdom."

"And yet what are you here doing?" I asked, taking her aback. "From my perception of what you think we should be doing, we should be studying math and sciences, and meeting new people, not learning how to rule or use magic. Yet, here we are, going to apprehend a high-class mage of our own will. And, you even helped me free a providence from a corrupt Count. Are those things people our age should be doing?"

"Well, no." She admitted.

"And we're still going to do this regardless, aren't we?"

"Yes."

"Then perk up." I said as I tussled her hair a bit. Then I remembered there were to other girls right here.

"Well." Kirche said with a bit of a smirk, inching her way to the other edge of the bench.

"Progress." Tabitha said as she returned to reading her book.

I was completely confused, and then I realized I was still holding Louise's hand. I cautiously let it go and placed it back on my lap. The rest of the trip was filled a strained strategy meeting.

…

"We're here." Mrs. Longueville called out. Kirche lifted the cover to the wagon and all three of us peeked outside. The place looked a bit out of place, but perfect for a hermit.

We were surrounded by the forest, with only the path we were on as the only major way out. In the middle of the clearing, there was a lone cottage, with a small ax yard on its side. There was plenty of chopped wood and splinters around, but no sign of an ax. Tabitha hopped out the back, followed by Louise, myself, Kirche, and finally Flame. We walked around to the front where Mrs. Longueville joined us as she got down. Sylphid was still circling above, but soon left.

I looked over to Tabitha. "Perimeter sweep." Was all she gave as a response. I just took it and turned back to the cabin.

"So, just so I have this straight," Louise began, "Saito and I go in to investigate, while the rest of you wait out here."

"That is correct." Mrs. Longueville confirmed. "But just in case Tabitha's familiar misses anything due to the density of the trees, I volunteer to check out the surrounding woods."

Louise gave Mrs. Longueville a strange look, but then sighed. "After an hour trip, you would have thought we would have come up with a productive search pattern."

"I think it works." I said. "Mrs. Longueville is the most skilled out of all of us, so she would be the one most able to handle herself in a sneak attack. And since she knows where we are for backup, an escape would be possible." I got an approving nod from Tabitha and Kirche. "So then, positions."

We all headed to our agreed places. Louise would have Derf ready to suppress anyone inside as I do anything to blast the door open. Tabitha kept the wagon guarded, just in case Fouquet tried to make off with it. Kirche stood with flame off from the center of the clearing to raise the alarm. And Mrs. Longueville slipped into the woods.

As Louise and I got in position, she drew Derf and nodded. I nodded in return and kicked the door in. Louise rushed in but stopped shortly after she was in.

"There's no one here." She called out.

"What?" I asked in surprise as I followed inside. Besides a few splinters loitering the ground, everything was coated in dust. "It looks like nobody's been in here for weeks." I said as I wiped a thick coat off with my finger off the table.

"But some one has, look." Louise said as she sheathed Derf and hefted a box onto a writing desk.

My eyes widened. "That's it, that's the Staff of Destruction. How did you find it so fast?"

"Well, there was already a pair of footprints leading to the desk, and seeing as there was no disturbance on the counter, I figured it was under it."

"But this makes no sense." I said as I scratched my head. "If Fouquet was willing to break into the school just to steal this, why leave it in a dusty shack? You would think he would at least try to-" I was cut off as a sudden blast was felt. Louise grabbed the Staff, and we both ran outside.

We were met with the sight of Kirche and Flame standing off against the same giant golem that had attacked the school. It was still half covered in the forest, but it was already lobbing chunks of its hands at Kirche, who met them with a fireball in return.

I scanned the things shoulders, and sure enough, Fouquet's figure was on the golem's left shoulder again. I spotted Tabitha gathering icicles, and shouted out "Tabitha, left shoulder!" She didn't even react, but the icicles turned and shot out. Fouquet saw the attack coming and lifted the golems left arm to block. As it did, the icicles dug in deep, and the ice started spreading. Before Fouquet could react, Flame shot a fireball from his tail at the arm, shattering it, and sending the remaining pieces into his face.

As he shielded his face, Louise had drawn Derf and pointed it at the monstrosity. "Explosion!" This time, the middle of the golem exploded, leaving a giant hole, the golem barely having a remaining side to stay standing. I took the time Fouquet was unbalanced to drop the Staff and teleport to his side, this time ready for the sudden footing change.

I went to grab Fouquet's arm, but due to the instability of the golem, he lurched, and my hand pulled back his hood. I was met with facing Mrs. Longueville.

"What?" Was all I said before she batted me off of the golem. I gave my wand a small flick and landed with a small thump. The three of my companions checked to see if I was all right.

"It's Mrs. Longueville!" I shouted, making all of them to snap back and examine her closely. Louise stumbled back bit, clutching her head.

"Of course she is, wasn't it bloody obvious?" I heard her say, before she snapped up. "Saito, toss me the staff!"

"Why?"

"Just do it!" Louise snapped. So I ran over to the abandoned box and tossed it over to Louise. She quickly broke the box evenly in half and pulled out a long staff. Louise then broke one end of the staff, and out came another, slightly slimmed staff. As soon as it landed in her hand, I saw her left hand start to glow.

Louise quickly started pulling small parts off of the Staff of Destruction, and placed it on her shoulder. No sooner had she started this process, she had gained Tabitha, Kirche, and even Fouquet's attention. Louise pulled a small trigger and there was a loud explosion, as a metal tube even sleeker than the other two, flew foreword.

Now at this point, the golem still had a huge hole in its abdomen and a missing left arm, so Louise went for the next logical target, the head. Naturally, taking out the head of a golem that's already damaged severely will collapse. Unfortunately, that's for solid golems, this one was dirt; it collapsed its own head to fill in the hole in its chest. The fire-powered tube flew by harmlessly.

"Damn!" Louise swore as she tossed the Staff onto the ground. "The missile missed."

"And that's all I need to know." I said as I took out my wand and flicked it back. "Come Missile."

"What!" Louise shouted. As the missile disappeared I flicked my wand foreword. The missile materialized right in front of them golem, and proceeded to explode. Mrs. Longueville was blasted into the air, but was safely caught by Sylphid. This was also took the time Louise had to come over and smack me in the face. "You idiot! You could have killed us all with that stunt! You know your summoning spell is incomplete, if that had ended up here, we all would have died you stupid dog!"

I only caught about half of that rant, I was still getting over the pain and surprise from being smacked. Familiars weren't supposed to be able to hurt their masters, even a little, but here Louise had smacked me as hard as she could, actually meaning to hurt me. Accidents could happen, but this was unheard of. I did, however, catch the stupid dog part.

"And what the hell is that for?" I said glaring at Louise. "It was a gamble, yes, but I didn't want the power of the Staff of Destruction going to waste."

Louise simply scoffed. "Wasted? I could have easily done another explosion and gotten the same results. You didn't need to risk our own safety."

"If we could interrupt this little squabble." Kirche interrupted. "We have Fouquet in custody now." I snapped to look at her, and Kirche was standing there with Mrs. Longueville on her knees, hands bound, and seemingly unconscious. Tabitha and the other familiar's were already waiting at the wagon.

I knelt down and examined her. She didn't seemed to hurt, a few scratches here and there, but otherwise fine. I sighed, relived that I hadn't caused undue harm.

"If you were that concerned, then you should have just let the missile miss." Louise humphed.

"What's up with her?" Kirche asked.

"I don't know, she's been like that since the fight ended." I sighed. I then heard Mrs. Longueville start to groan as she started coming around. "Well, at least we can get some answers here before Shin throws her in a cell and throws away the keys."

Mrs. Longueville blinked a few times and then steadied her gaze on me. "Saito? What are you doing in the forest? Aren't you supposed to investigate the cottage?"

"Don't try to play innocent Mrs. Longueville, or should I say Fouquet?"

"Fouquet?" She asked, coming around a bit faster. "What are you talking about Mr. Hiraga? I'm not Fouquet."

"Then what was with you standing on Fouquet's golem in Fouquet's cloak?" I asked as I held the material in front of her.

"What? But I never put this cloak on." She said confused. "I entered the forest, and a ways in I turned around and- ugh!" She groaned as she screwed her eyes shut. When she snapped them open again, she tugged her bound arms out of Kirche's grip and head butted me in the chin. I fell back and Fouquet made a dash for the Staff of Destruction. As she bent down to take it, however, Louise was holding Derf at her throat.

"Don't even bother. It's a one-use tool of war. One shot, and it needs reloading, and I don't think you have any more missiles here." Louise said as she knelt down in front of Fouquet. Her right eye twitched for a second and Louise stood up. "Saito! Come see this." I came over cautiously and looked at Fouquet.

"Her eyes are blank." I said in surprise. "But that means-"

"She's being controlled." Kirche said as she came over and examined Fouquet as well. "Tabitha might be gloomy, but at least she has something to say."

I knelt in front of Mrs. Longueville. "To the real Fouquet, we will find you, and if you continue to use Mrs. Longueville like this, I can't guarantee that you have a safe time dealing with anyone else from the Tristain Magic Academy." After that, Mrs. Longueville sighed and collapsed onto the ground, causing me to sigh in relief.

"That was a bluff and you know it Saito." Louise said as she sheathed Derf and started putting the Staff of Destruction away.

"Yes and no. There are those who would fight for the school. Others would gladly let the problem slip by if it didn't include them. But for right now, let's keep Mrs. Longueville bound, just in case Fouquet takes over again."

"Who's going to drive then?" Louise asked.

"I will of course." I said. "Besides, I am not sitting in back again."

"Shotgun!" Louise said as she shot her hand into the air. Kirche and I looked at her weird. She slowly put her hand down. "I mean, I'll be in front to, to leave space for Mrs. Longueville."

"All right then." Kirche sighed as she redid the knots to restrain Mrs. Longueville.

"Here, let me." Louise said as she took over. Her left hand glowed ever so slightly, and in no time flat, both Mrs. Longueville's arms and legs were bound.

"How did you do that?" I asked.

"Rope can be a weapon to, if you know what you're doing." Louise said flatly.

"What?" I asked, confused.

"What?" Louise asked back.

I just shook my head. "Let's just get to the wagon."

As we set off, everyone was quite as they reflected on the short battle. As I began to think about the end, I looked at Louise.

"Louise, how did you know that the Staff of Destruction could only be used once?"

"Huh?" She looked confused for a second, and then it dawned. "Oh, right. Well, my dad is an old war enthusiast, I recognized the Staff of Destruction as a M-72 LAW rocket launcher."

"Oh, all right." I stayed in silence for a little bit longer, but it finally came out. "Why did you call me a stupid dog?"

"All right, now what are you talking about?" Louise asked.

"When you smacked me and told me teleporting the missile was an idiotic move, you slapped me and called me a stupid dog. So why a dog?"

"Something must have hit you hard Saito." Louise said, looking a bit concerned. "I never said or did anything like that."


	17. A Problem Solved and Posed

**A Problem Solved and Posed:**

I sat in silence for the rest of the trip home. I didn't know if Louise was just messing around with me, or if she actually serious when she said that she didn't do it. But that just left me with wondering how and why. How could she not remember smacking me? She probably still had some pain in her hand; she had smacked me pretty hard. And why couldn't she remember? Either she had short-term memory loss, or somebody had taken over her like Fouquet had done with Mrs. Longueville.

When we returned to the academy gates, they opened up and we went to the front steps, where Shin and his guard were waiting with Osmond and Henrietta. Shin immediately noticed that I was driving, and clutched his sword ever tighter. I was honestly starting to believe there was nothing in this world that _didn't_ make him tense up.

When I stopped the wagon, Louise and I both got down and went foreword. We both knelt for a moment before Henrietta told us to stand. "So, have you found our thief?" She asked in a friendly, yet royal tone.

"Ah, yes and no, princess." I sighed as I scratched my head.

"How can you both have and have not captured someone?" Shin asked.

"When you catch a puppet." Louise replied curtly. Tabitha and Kirche both came out of the wagon, followed by Flame carrying the bound secretary. Osmond's eyes shot open.

"My own secretary stole from the school?"

"Not her, per say, principle." I addressed. "Like Louise said, we merely caught a puppet. Mrs. Longueville was just being used as a delicate means of retrieval. It's also why nothing ever had a direct magical trace, because the wielder has one impressive control distance. Even after we restrained Mrs. Longueville, Sylphid did an intensive search from above and found nothing."

"Well then, we lock up the puppet so she can't be used again." Shin said as he started to come foreword.

"Now hold on." I said as I placed my hand on Shin's chest to stop him. He glared at me and I glared back. "That just isn't fair."

"But it's safe."

"Is it really?" I asked. "What will stop Fouquet from just picking up another puppet to do his stealing, hm?"

"Saito makes a good point Captain Shin." Henrietta commented. "Instead of extracting a punishment immediately, we learn. Like for instance, if she were aware that she were the culprit, would she hand us evidence on purpose to lead us right to her?"

"If she needed something from someone that she couldn't do herself, then yes." Shin replied.

"And that's exactly what she did." Louise said. I looked at Louise in shock, why would she purposely criminalize someone who's innocent? As in answer, Louise went back to the driver's seat and pulled out the black box that held the Staff of Destruction. "If I were any of you, I wouldn't know what this is either."

"Oh, it's good that you got the Staff of Destruction back Mrs. Vallière." Osmond said as he approached. "You have no idea the devastation it can cause."

"Actually, I do." Louise said, making Osmond stop and everyone look at her. "See, this here is some old war technology from where I come from. And now, it's completely useless, just a hunk of metal now."

"H-How did you do it?" Osmond asked.

"Does it really matter? Unless you have more rocket launchers just lying around. If that's the case, this place is more reckless than I expected."

"No! No." Osmond quickly denied after getting a quick glare from Shin. "That was only one of two. A strange warrior I met 30 years ago used the other. I buried that one with him when he died a short time after I met him. I told of its destructive power I witnessed to the palace, and I was told to keep the other locked away."

"Uh huh." Louise said, not sounding fully convinced.

"The Head Master is telling the truth." Henrietta spoke up. "In my father's personal accounts, his records of the founding of the Staff match his statement."

"Well, with that little matter out of the way, how about telling me what we're actually going to be doing with Mrs. Longueville." Shin continued. "Should we start with how she's being controlled, or how she got into the school in the first place?"

"I think those are great questions, really." I said, with some heavy sarcasm, gaining another glare I was quickly overcoming. "But how about we carry on with why the princess is here today shall we?" Shin just raised an eyebrow, and I sighed. "The Familiar Exhibition? Even you can't turn down analysis of future powers."

Shin didn't say anything; he just simply turned back to the princess. "Is keeping her in a cell of the school's fine until the Exhibition is done?"

"I think that will be acceptable." Henrietta said. "We've already kept it delayed long enough, I believe that people want a show, and I believe it's about time to give one. Captain Shin, I think you should take Mrs. Longueville off of Miss Zerbst's familiar so that she can get ready."

"Oh no Princess." Kirche said. "I'm more than enough prepared. I would be more than happy to accompany the captain to the retaining cells."

"Well then, Tabitha, Saito, I believe that gives you two to prepare then."

We all left, Tabitha to Sylphid, Osmond and Henrietta up to a balcony that they would use for observation, and Kirche with Shin to the retaining center. I started to fear for Shin falling for Kirche, but then I started to fear for Kirche's life. I stopped thinking about it and turned to Louise.

"Come on Louise, we have to go find me a new sword."

…

"No."

"Oh come on Guiche, you made the other one with just a wave of your rose, it shouldn't be that hard to make another one."

"The answer is still no." Guiche said defiantly. "I made you the last one so you would leave me alone."

Louise and I had found Guiche loitering around the girl's dorm, trying to pick up any girl he hadn't yet already done so with. I honestly didn't see what the thrill of trying to hook up with all of them was supposed to accomplish. It was all going to collapse on him one of these days, probably end with him torn to shreds by sharp nails.

"But the other one just simply disintegrated!" I complained.

"And whose fault is that?" Guiche accused. "I made that sword out of pure bronze! Unless you purposely put it through a forge or tried to block a destructive spell, it should have been fine. But nooo, you have to use _your_ magic on it. The second you try to summon it, you make it as brittle as charcoal. What? You don't think I wouldn't feel a piece of my magic violently crumble? Sure, it was a small part, but a part nonetheless. Now if you will excuse me, I hear the ladies calling out for me." And with that, he left to go pick up more women.

"Well, who need's your weak magic anyways?" I shouted after him.

"Um, you do." Louise pointed out. "Without him, we don't have a second sword that we could use for our performance."

"I know that Louise, I just don't like having to be so reliant on others." I sighed. "I would make my own if I could, but we both know how that would turn out. And I can't ask anyone else because I don't _know_ anyone else to do it."

"What about Tabitha?" Louise asked. "She seems to have some skill, maybe she could make you another sword."

"Well, she may have skill and power, but her focuses are on wind and water. That pretty much makes her using fire or earth magic less of a priority. If Guiche and Tabitha were to have a one on one Earth duel, it would be hard pressed for both sides." I commented. "Besides, I don't think she likes me all that much."

"Is it because of that impassive look she has?"

"Well, yes and no. She always has that look, but whenever the subject comes around to me, she has absolutely nothing to say, not even criticism. And that just worries me more."

"Hm," Louise started thinking. "Maybe Kirche could-"

"No!" I shouted as I covered her mouth. "Don't even mention her. That would just put me in a debt of three favors. I don't even want to think about what she wants me to do for the other two."

"Then what about your sister?" Louise questioned as she pulled my hand down. I started to come up with an objection, but couldn't come up with one.

"Let's go find Katra then."

…

"You want me to do what again?" Katra asked in surprise.

"I'm asking for you to make me a sword Katra." I said once again. We had found her in the nurse's office, like we figured she would be.

"All right, I get it, you want some sort of protection while Shin is around. But what happened to your other one?"

"Well, one, I need a sword for my Familiar Exhibition performance, not to be used against Shin, and two, I, um…"

"Pretty much disintegrated it when he tried to teleport it to him." Louise finished for me."

"And how in the world did you manage that?" Katra asked in surprise. "You go to places just fine, how did you mess up the reverse process?"

I smacked myself in the head. "_That's _why it failed, I had to do _all_ of it backwards. How could I forget that?"

"Don't worry Saito, it's still a new power, you'll master it eventually." Katra smiled. "Now, as for that sword."

"Will you do it?" I asked, almost pleadingly. "It doesn't have to be anything fancy, just a normal sword that fits my scabbard." And as I said that, I pulled out my empty sheath. Katra took it and examined it closely.

"Hm, these dimensions are rather easy. Easy enough, in fact, that there is plenty of space to mess around with other complexities."

"_Katra._ A normal sword will be more than enough."

"Fine, fine. Let me just check a few other things first though. I don't want magic residue to conflict and make your back turn purple or something." She said as she drew out the same pair of glasses that she had used when she had examined Louise.

"But, I wear my sword on my hip, how would it affect my back?" I asked as Katra examined the sheath, rubbing it here and there.

"Now wouldn't you like to know?" She gave a sly smile. I saw her give a quick, sharp glance at Louise, faltering her smile for a split second. She looked back down and then handed me the scabbard. "Louise, could you go hold Saito's spot for the Exhibition? I want my brother to be the last and most impressive, so practice a bit by your self. Saito, you need to stay here so I can adjust your sword here and now."

I didn't like Katra ordering Louise around, but I nodded in agreement. "Better do what she says Louise, go brush up on your skills a bit while we fine tune this new sword."

Louise just sighed. "All right, if you say so. Just call if you really need me. And please, call, don't try and summon me quite yet." She smirked.

"Just go already." I said as I pushed out of the room, giving her hair a tousle for good measure. When I saw her start heading down the stairs, I closed the door and turned back to Katra. "All right, something's up. You don't send people away for bad news unless it's about them and something can be done without panicking them. So what's wrong with Louise?"

"Was I that obvious?" Katra tried to feign innocence.

"No, I just know you. So spill, what did you see?" I said as I took a seat across from my sister. She just sighed, placed the sheath down, and took off her glasses.

"You remember what I told you that these glasses can tell the flow of magic?"

"Yeah, it's what told you that Louise was better, well, she had rampant magic."

"Well, these glasses can also tell a general power base. When I saw Louise with these the first time, she just had chunks of very high powered magic moving sporadically throughout her entire body, leaving some parts with no magic, other parts with enough power to blow this entire place sky high!" I gulped. "But now," Katra sighed. "That magic has settled down throughout her entire body."

"Well, isn't that a good thing?" I said as I leaned foreword. "I mean, with her magic stable, then it will be easier for her to use."

"That's just it Saito." Katra said, getting very serious. "That's not Louise's magic to use."

"Huh? You've completely lost me." I said, confused out of my mind. I had been with Louise nearly the entire time she's been here.

"You do know that everyone has their own magic potential and power. You learn that in Basic Magic Principles. Well, Louise's magic potential is very low, thus her power shouldn't be able to overcome her potential by that much. Yet, she's able to use a powerful spell like her explosion multiple times and not even break a sweat, and you _know_ how powerful that is. So put to you, Saito, that Louise is stealing power."

"That's preposterous and you know it Katra." I shouted, still keeping my seat. "You know for a fact that Louise is _not_ taking power from anyone here."

"Can you prove that though?" Katra remained calm, like I would if I was dealing with an angry Shin. I smiled at the irony and sat back.

"No, I really can't." I admitted.

"And it's not like Louise has to be conscious that she's doing it. She could have someone controlling her, just like what Fouquet did with Matilda."

"Who?" I asked in confusion.

"Oh, sorry, you know her as Mrs. Longueville. But like I was saying, Louise could be stealing while someone else is controlling her body, and she would have no recollection of it."

The conversation I had with Louise earlier that day struck me. "Actually, I think there might be another solution to this problem."

"A third solution between she is and isn't stealing power?" Katra asked skeptically.

"Right. I put that it is her power, but it was to much and split into another personality."

"Are you even listening to yourself Saito? What do you base this on exactly?" Katra asked, looking at me like I was desperate to find another solution. So I described to her what happened, in detail, when we confronted Fouquet. By the end of the tale, Katra looked like she could believe me a bit more.

"All right Saito, I'll give you that she displayed a split personality, but a power to great would fracture the mind into insanity, not a different person."

"Well then, you explain to me how she could have power beyond her possible potential." I said exasperated. I was sure this was the right answer. Louise was tapping into a source of magic subconsciously from another personality. That had to be it. She had even admitted that she couldn't perform magic before being summoned by me, and Katra said that she was unstable when she had had magical backup.

"Look, Saito, I'll think of this further. Right now, try to keep Louise's use of magic to a minimum." Katra sighed as she stood up and opened the window. "Now about that sword." Katra pointed her wand down at the ground. I went over and saw that the sword was there, and Katra was trying to get it up here. A few strained seconds latter, I had a new sword in hand with Katra taking deep breaths. "That wasn't as hard as I was expecting it to be." She said as she straightened up. "Now, go take care of your familiar and give Henrietta a good show." She finished with a smile.

I took my sheath and put my new sword in. It fit perfectly fine, like it was the sheath made for the sword. As I left, I turned to Katra one more time. "Sis, don't make this into a bigger mess than it needs to be."

"Don't worry Saito, I'll keep Louise's problem as discreet as possible."

"That's not what I mean." I sighed. "Please stop trying to provoke Shin so much." Katra straightened up and started to say something, but I cut in. "The past is the past, and we all need to learn how to let go. He's our brother, and we should try to accept him for who he is." Katra sat back and smiled softly.

"All right Saito, I'll forgive if you're willing to."

"Thanks Katra." And with that, I was off to meet up with Louise.


	18. Exhausted Exhibition

**Exhausted Exhibition:**

"What took so long? I had enough time to go through the entire routine twice!" Louise said, exasperated. "I kept you in last like Katra asked too, because we're up in two more shows."

"Sorry," I said as I jogged up. "Guiche's magic is still premature, so it took a little bit of fixing. So, who's left?"

"Kirche and Tabitha." Louise said as she turned back to a round of applause. I looked over her shoulder to see that Kirche was taking an exuberant bow as Flame came up onto the stage.

Kirche stood aside and Flame started his show. It was simple really, but Kirche was able to add some sort of spin that made it seem so unique. Simply put, all flame did was juggle three or four small fireballs with his tail, then expanded them into fire rings above him and shot a stream of fire through each one pinpoint accurately. Kirche then waved her wand a little and the flame rings moved into the shape of a heart that hovered in midair for a few seconds before disappearing. She took one more bow as she was met by an even louder applause. She stepped down on the opposite side of the stage as Tabitha brushed right passed me to show up on stage.

The crowd quieted down as they waited for Tabitha to do something, but all she did was stand there. In no time though, Sylphid landed quickly and quietly in front of the stage in the small space the seats were set back to account for any mishaps. Tabitha quickly mounted her dragon, and she took off as quickly as she had shown up. Everyone followed her flight as she did a slow circle over the crowd. Sylphid then quietly landed on the stage, with only a slight creek to acknowledge that a dragon had actually landed. There was an even bigger roar from the crowd as Sylphid took off and Tabitha left the stage.

"I think we can take the show, don't you Louise?" I said with a small smile. To tell the truth, I had no idea how our performance was going to hold up to that. Louise and I went up on stage and faced the crowd. We both respectively bowed and then faced each other. We both drew our swords and crossed them in the air.

I took the first swing like we had practiced. I drew back and took a lateral swing, which Louise deflected and fluidly took an upper swing. We went through the fight like we had practiced perfectly, but now came the part no one could have seen yet,

even if they had watched our practices.

I started throwing in my short teleport attacks, which Louise had become to defending, but some had not yet seen. We started moving faster and stronger until sparks started coming out from the clash of our swords. Now, Louise may not have gotten better at any other spell besides explosion, and I may not be getting better with anything besides the teleport, but we both had something in common.

We were both fast learners. In just a week, I was able to teach Louise the first three forms of swordsmanship from my family, and she was able to stabilize my use of power. If I had to, I think I could teleport a whole room of people, never mind prolonged combat. Now, even the people who had frequently watched our sparring matches were getting sucked in. Soon enough, every clash of steel was met with a loud clash and rain of sparks. It got so fast, that no one noticed when I teleported to just off stage and Louise kept up the forms while escalating the sparks to small explosions. Then Louise stopped and just pointed Derf into the air.

What followed grabbed everyone's attention. Louise let out a flurry of explosions. With all of them exploding near the exact same moment, the dust and smoke left afterwards kept the shape of a three pronged crown, in which the wind carried off into obscurity. Everyone was silent, and then I heard murmurings. Louise just sheathed Derf and I walked back out on stage. We both took one more bow, and the crowd exploded in applause.

As we walked off stage, Louise almost collapsed to the ground. I was able to catch her and could tell she was breathing heavily. So the display must have taken more out of her than what I was expecting. Well, it was a good thing that we had taken the time to practice, if we hadn't, Louise wouldn't have lasted even a quarter of how long she did. I smiled and hoisted her onto my back. No matter how much she complained later, she deserved a rest.

…

Unfortunately, our display had been forfeited for too much interference from me. Apparently, the mage was only to participate with a maximum of three assistant actions, and each swing of my sword had counted as an assistant action.

Somewhere in my head, I thought that Shin had had a part in that judgment so that I wouldn't win. But I just shoved that thought aside, it was a show, and we had given one. Tabitha had been awarded as the winner of the exhibition, and Henrietta asked for one more fly by, which Tabitha agreed to.

After I had been told that I had been disqualified from the choosing, instead of sticking around for a clamoring crowd, I decided to take Louise back to the room. I laid her down on the bed and took Derf off. I leaned him against the wall and sat back in the chair. I hadn't noticed until I had sat down, but I was pretty winded myself. Maybe I should work on the power consumption next. I already had the process of teleporting down; I just had to minimize its use of energy.

Unlike other spells where it already had a set procedure, I had to come up with the use of my skill. A fireball might just be a giant gathering of flame, but the procedure to get it there had been perfected to use as little energy as possible to make. This made it possible to use so many spells at one time. If all spells were set up as sloppily as mine, Katra couldn't do half the stuff she does.

As I thought of making a few adjustments to the spell, I started to think about Louise's explosion spell. Katra said that she had enough built up power to blow us all sky high. But the way she looked now just made her look like a soft pink angle.

"Hey Derf." I said as I was looking up at the ceiling.

"Yeah?" I heard him say as I also heard him slide out of his sheath.

"How does it feel to have so much magic pumped through you?"

"Hm, it's strange to say the least. I don't know how to explain how being a sword feels, but it kind of feels like this churning that has a way in and feels like it only has one way out."

"I think I understand." I sighed. "Do you think someone besides Louise could use you to cast magic?"

"Why, you thinking of doing it?"

"No, no, it's just, when a mage's wand is taken, the wand usually has a setup to make it harder for anyone who isn't it's normal user to use. But seeing as you're an ancient sword, I don't think those kind of safeguards would be there."

"Well, they would first have to get me out of my partners hands." Derf said stubbornly. "And even then, I don't think so. For some reason, it feels wrong being used to cast magic. It just feels backwards somehow."

"All right." I smiled. "I just wanted to know, because I thinking about taking a nap."

"Trust me, if anyone barges in, I'm sure you'll be the first one to know." Derf said. I think I even heard a chuckle in there. I just sighed and leaned back a bit and closed my eyes.

Unfortunately, the world didn't want to lose a grip on me quite yet. There was a knock on the door and I had to get up to unlock it. Surprisingly enough, Henrietta was standing there with Shin and Katra.

"Everyone." I said with a bit of surprise. "Come on in. There's not all that much room, but have a seat." I said as I gestured for them to come in. Henrietta came in and took a seat while Katra went to Louise's side. Shin, on the other hand, stood outside the door. "Either you're coming in, or you'll have to stand out there while I close the door." That seemed to make his decision, as he came in and stood beside the door. "So, what can I do for everyone?" I said as I closed the door and too the seat opposite of Henrietta.

"Well, I came up here after having spotted you piggy backing Louise up here." Katra said as she was checking up on Louise. "What did I say about excessive use of magic?"

"It seemed fine whenever we went through with practice." I shrugged. "But I promise that I'll keep an eye on her use in the future."

"All right." Katra said as she pulled out her glasses. As she put them on, she looked surprised. "Well then, what do we have here?"

"What?" I said as I started getting up.

"Nothing! Nothing to worry about Saito. Just give me a minute to sort this out. Why don't you ask why Henrietta and Shin are here?" She said, calming me down. I heard a slight shuffle, and I gave a small glance to Shin, expecting dissatisfaction. Surprisingly enough, I instead saw discomfort. I let it slide and turned to Henrietta.

"So, what can I do for the princess today?"

"Well, you know very well about the Mott incident." She said.

"Well, yes, I was a part of it." I said simply.

"Well, since then, we have been getting more and more reports of power abuse throughout the kingdom. Most of these have been from storeowners and recently released staff. I can't handle all of the cases, and I'm also starting to wonder what the kingdom actually thinks of me ruling." Henrietta said, starting to bunch up her dress.

"And so you came to me to see if any of these accusations were true." I stated.

"Well, one in particular right now. A nobleman by the name of Chillan has had numerous complaints forged against him as of late. But every time we send someone to investigate, the complainer says that the message was just a fluke. So I wanted someone I could trust to help."

"Ok, and when were planning on dispatching me?"

"Well, I wanted to do it immediately, but it doesn't look like Louise is in any condition to do so." Henrietta said, looking over at Louise with concern. Just then, there was a light persistent knocking at the door. Shin automatically stated to draw his sword.

"It's the school Shin, there shouldn't be a problem, so put that away." I said as I stood and answered the door. As I opened it, I saw Siesta leaving. "Siesta? Where are you going?"

"Oh, um, well, I wanted to congratulate you on your performance, but it looks like you have company right now, so I'll just come back later." She said as she turned around, looking down.

"Nonsense, come on in. Actually, there are two people that I want you to meet."

"Well, I have a job to do and-"

"Oh come on." I said as I had left the room and grabbed her hand and pulled her into the room. As I did, Shin was giving me a cold look over, and Henrietta was slightly confused. Katra was still busy with Louise. "Henrietta, may I introduce Siesta, a maid who works here at the school and the reason why Mott was uncovered." I said with some formality. I did however feel Siesta's grip tighten.

"I-I-I-It's very nice to meet you Princess Henrietta!" Siesta said with so much speed, it was a wonder she hadn't bitten her tongue.

"It's nice to meet you to Siesta, please, take a seat." Henrietta said with a small smile and gesture to the chair I had just been occupying.

"I-I can't r-really. I have m-my job to get b-back to." Siesta said.

"It's okay Siesta. Calm down." I said as I lead her over to the chair and sat her down. "Henrietta's an old friend of mine and she was just here as a concerned friend. Louise isn't doing so well right now. As soon as we were done, she collapsed from exhaustion."

"Oh." Was all Siesta said, completely forgetting to feel nervous. "Is she okay?"

"She's perfectly fine." Katra said as she stood up. "Hello Siesta. She just need's some rest. All of that magic was exhausting for her."

"Thank you Katra." I smiled. "Now, as for your problem Henrietta."

"I don't think now would be the best time for that." Shin finally spoke. "I agreed to Saito and Louise, not this maid." He stated simply. But that simple statement made Siesta feel horrible again.

"She already knows what kind of problem this is Shin, some outside advice wouldn't hurt." I said.

"…Fine." Shin conceded after some thought.

"So, how urgent is the problem?" I continued.

"Well, it just seems like he's overtaxing a bit to line his own pouch, and he seems to be taking advantage of his status to eat and drink at the local places for a reduced fee. There were even some reports of the waitresses disappearing for two or three days at a time."

"It sounds a bit like what Count Mott had been doing." Siesta said. Attention turned to her, and she shrunk a little. "The other maids would talk of how well off Mott was, even though he was running such a small piece of land. Some were even relived when he decided to go to the town for the night."

I shuddered at the implications, but I knew the world wasn't a pleasant place to live in. There was always going to be a Mott here or there, I just didn't like how they had power to make their schemes possible.

"So, where is this Chillan guy anyways? I would like to know how far it is. If I can get there and back, we could leave immediately when Louise is up and around." I said.

"Chillian's are is about a day carriage ride from here." Henrietta said as she looked to Katra. "Would that give him enough time?"

"Hm, I think he should just stay here. It will take a little time, but I think Louise will be up and about by noon tomorrow."

"All right then, two days should be more than enough time to get ready." I said as I clapped my hands. "Now that business is out of the way, how about we all catch up?"

So it went about that Henrietta told us of how the castle and her mother have been doing, Katra told us of how she had been asked to be the nurse at the school, and Siesta even told us of how much she loved being here at the school. In all her years, she had never expected to become friends with so may noble, and never even dreamed of meeting the princess. Shin just stood silently in the corner, and I tended to Louise a little.

In all, I think I served as a purpose for the three of them to become closer friends. I smiled at the thought of a regular worker, a noble doctor, and a princess becoming friends. I noticed that Louise seemed to be having a troubling dream, so I sat on the side of the bed and gripped her hand. They were so small, yet these were the hands that handled Derf well enough to fight on par with me.

As the sun was starting to set, Shin said that Henrietta should leave so that they could leave in the morning. Katra got up as well and said she had a few things to take care of before turning in as well. After they left, Siesta sat quietly in her chair as she took in what she just did. Then she just turned to me.

"Did I really just speak with Princess Henrietta?"

"Yes you did." I smiled.

"And we talked?"

"Yes."

"About normal things?"

"I believe so."

"I can't believe that actually happened."

"I can." I said as I offered her a hand to stand. She accepted it and stood up. "And now you just had a lifetime experience. Treasure it, because Henrietta will also treasure meeting someone like you."

"L-Like me?" Siesta started to stutter again.

"Sure." I smiled. "You are an amazing person Siesta, don't ever doubt that."

"Thank you Saito." She said as she looked away. "Oh! And while I'm here, why don't I actually do my job." She said as she hoisted my laundry basket. As she left, she turned one more time. "You two did fantastically in the exhibition."

"Thank you Siesta, good night."

"Good nigh Saito." Siesta said. And with that I closed the door and locked it. I collapsed onto the cot, not even bothering to get out of my clothes.

"Going to finally take that nap?" Derf said. He had put himself away while everyone had been here, but now he came back out.

"I think it's going to be a long one too." I said with a small laugh and a sigh. "Night Derf."

"Good night."

"Night Louise." I said without even thinking.

"Night Saito." I heard her say. I didn't bother to check if she was awake, I just fell asleep.


	19. A Day to Prepair

**A Day to Prepair:**

I woke up the next morning with a stretch and a yawn. Katra had said that Louise would wake up at around noon without any help, so I changed and headed down to breakfast alone. When I got there, I found that Kirche and Guiche were already eating across from each other, so I went over to join them.

"Morning." I said as I pulled up a chair beside Guiche and grabbed some pancakes. "How are you two?"

"I feel defeated." Guiche mumbled. "How can a little bit of flying beat Verdandi's exquisite beauty?"

"You just posed with your mole and everyone knows it." Kirche stabbed her fork at Guiche. "But I have to say, you and Louise did wonderfully, even if you mimicked Flame's heart."

"Hey, I didn't know anything about that." I said defensively. "I only came in as you and Tabitha were performing. I was to busy getting a new sword." I said with a small glance at Guiche.

"That reminds me, where did you get your new sword on such short notice?" Guiche asked as he finished off some sausage.

"I'm not telling." I said with a grin. "If you don't want to help, then you don't get to know the details."

"Fine, be as mysterious as you want. But you have to tell me why the Princess spent so much time in your room yesterday behind closed doors." Guiche said with a sly look. It took all of my will _not_ to spray the orange juice I had just taken in.

"Now _this_ is interesting." Kirche said as she leaned in. "Are you only interested in royals perhaps?"

"Nonononononono." I said, waving my hands away for emphasis. I turned to Guiche. "And if you know that much, how could you not tell?"

"The blasted door had a silence spell on it." Guiche pouted. "But honestly, your familiar _and_ the Princess? Even I wouldn't be so daring."

"NO!" I said out loud, slamming the table. I had to take a breather and sink back into my seat. Even if it was early, others were still watching. "It wasn't like that. Louise collapsed from exhaustion and Princess Henrietta was just coming by to congratulate me on a well done performance." I said a bit more calm.

"For three hours, with a maid?" Guiche asked.

"When did a _maid_ enter this scenario?" Kirche asked. "And why was I left out of it?"

"Ok, look Kirche, it was not like how Guiche is making it sound." I tried to reason in a calm manner. "My sister was also there to check up on Louise's condition, and my brother was there to protect the Princess. Siesta happened to come by and I invited her to stay."

"Well that just sounds like a _fantastic_ party, two men, four women. I guess I would have gotten in the way." Kirche sighed. "Maybe if I had brought Tabitha." She started to ponder.

"Kirche, do you realize who my brother is and who's been glued to Princess Henrietta's side the entire time she's been here?"

"Hm? I was guessing it was just some nameless captain for a routine guard." Kirche said in a bit of confusion.

"Has Germania ever heard of Captain Shin Hiraga, Cold Sword of Tristain?" Kirche paled at the name.

"Y-You can't honestly be serious?" She asked, amazed. "I thought he was just some sort of fabrication to boost Tristain's military power outlook."

"Nope, he's the real deal, and I've heard the roomers, they're only slightly fabricated." I confirmed.

"To think that I could have lost my head yesterday." She said as she sat back, cradling her throat.

"I don't think so, you have to touch him at least ten times in three minutes for him to start that." I said, and she huddled down a little. "All right, how much _did_ you touch him?"

"I might have, you know, been all over him." She quietly admitted.

"And you didn't lose at least a hand?"

"Nope, both still here. See?" Kirche said as she held both hands up. "I'm lucky, I guess."

"Or gained enough respect." I sighed.

"Mind reading me in here?" Guiche asked. "Why does your brother change the whole situation?"

"Guiche, your dad is a general, right?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

"Yes, you know that." He said, getting a bit impatient.

"Shin runs his own command, as a captain." I stated.

"But he should report to someone." Guiche said.

"Yeah, directly to the crown. If the crown wants an elite force, they call Shin."

"So what is he doing here, if he's so elite?"

I thought for a second. "I don't know. Maybe the Princess just wanted us to meet up again."

"And why would she do that?" Kirche asked. "It's very unusual for the head of a country to care about a lower noble's family affair."

"Huh? I thought you guys knew that I've known Princess Henrietta since we were small." I said. The other two just looked at me like I was crazy.

"Do you have a better explanation?" Guiche asked. "I just can't accept that as an answer."

"No, it's true. I've known the Princess since the time I could walk and talk."

"You're serious?" Kirche asked.

"Completely."

"Then why didn't we get to meet her?" Guiche asked. "Come on, I'm your best friend, right?"

"Sometimes, even I doubt that." I muttered. The conversation took on a better tone after that. We discussed each of our performances and commented on others. After my morning Earth Practicality course, I decided to check up on Louise before heading to Lunch. It was a bit pass noon, so I figured she might be up by now.

When I opened the door, I was greeted with the sight of Louise's full bare back. I quickly slammed the door shut and berated myself. What had my parent _always_ told me about knocking?

"Who's there?" Louise called out.

"It's just me." I called back. "I'm sorry, I thought you would still be asleep. When you're done changing, we can head down to lunch."

"All right, just hang on for a moment." Louise called. A minute or so later, Louise was out of the room in her school uniform. "Ok then, let's go get some food shall we?"

"Sure." I replied, and we headed down to Lunch. It was as crowded as ever, but Kirche had saved us two seats. Louise sat down and I next to her.

"Saito?" Louise asked curiously.

"Yeah?" I said as I cut a piece of chicken for myself.

"Didn't you have something to do?" She asked, a bit of force on the reminder. I thought for a second, and then it hit me.

"You're right, I do! Thanks Louise!" I said as I picked up the slice of chicken and headed out. I needed to buy some commoner clothes for the mission Henrietta had set up. I ran back to my room to grab some of my emergency funds, but when I got there, there were already two piles of clothes with a note on top.

_Dear Saito,_

_I know I gave you this request on short notice. So I asked Siesta to gather some of the staff's clothes that would fit the two of you._

_Sincerely, Henrietta._

I breathed a sigh of relief. She had thought this all through. I really wanted to use the funds I had stored here in case of actual emergencies.

"Whatcha worried for? Aren't you supposed to be at Lunch or something?" Derf asked. I turned to see that he was still where I had left him yesterday.

"I had to make sure that we had clothes for our trip today, but it seems like I was worrying for nothing." I chuckled, but the stopped. "Why are you here Derf? I thought Louise took you with her everywhere."

"She usually does, but it seems like it finally sunk in that leaving me at the door isn't a good idea. She also said, and I quote, 'Why would I need a sword at a meal?' Sense finally got through to her."

"Yeah, she can be pretty stubborn." I laughed, but then stopped again. How had she known that I needed to get the clothes? Even I hadn't thought of that until she told me, and only with the context of today's mission, but she had been unconscious. I pondered on this until the one o'clock bell interrupted me. "Aw man, I missed lunch." I sighed as I got up. "Well, might as well go collect Louise and get going."

That's when Louise opened up the door with a plate spread of cheese, ham, and bread. "I thought you might miss lunch, so I gathered some up before they cleared the tables." She said as she handed me the plate.

"Thanks a ton Louise. I'm starved." I said as I put the bread, cheese, and ham into a manageable sandwich at the table. Louise simply sat on the bed and watched. After I finished my first one, I looked at Louise. "So, how did you know that I needed to get the clothes?"

"Hm?" Louise asked, as if she were coming out of deep thought. "Oh, I didn't. I just felt like there were some intensive glares today."

"We still get those huh? I stopped noticing." I said as I bit into my second sandwich.

"Really? I haven't." Louise said, a bit downcast.

"Don't worry about it Louise. Those are just some noble brats who can't get over the fact that a commoner is at their tables."

"You shouldn't call any noble a brat Saito, even if they are a child." Louise scolded.

"I know I shouldn't, but some of them just are. And those kids are the ones who are going to grow up to be another Count Mott. Swindling their responsibilities for personal gain."

"I know, it's a sad truth." Louise admitted. "So, where _are_ we going? I don't think we agreed on going anywhere." She said as she lifted one of the commoner shirts up.

"Oh, right, you were unconscious when she was here. Henrietta asked us to investigate a nobleman who keeps having multiple complaints filed and contracted against him." I said as I finished up my third and final sandwich.

"That sounds… simple enough. How are getting there?"

"Well, Henrietta said that it would take about a day to get there by carriage, so I figure a day or so by horseback won't be a problem. We might have to camp if we can't make it there by sunset. Are you ok with that?"

"When did you have time to learn how to camp?"

"Oh, it was just something my dad did with me a few times. He said it was for training, but I think he liked that time just as much as I did." I said as I remembered back to the times when dad, Shin, and I had our fun times. "But, if everything is taken care of here, I think we can attend our afternoon classes without any problems. Shall we?" I asked as I opened the door.

Classes went as they normally did. That included studying, practicing, and small explosions throughout the school. I had been getting better with energy focus, so at least the blasts only scorched the desk instead of taking out the classroom. Lucky me, we also had to do manual labor today to keep us physically fit, so it was up to me to make all the desks I had burned to shine like new again.

As I was doing this, I was able to catch a glimpse out one of the windows to see Louise conversing freely with Kirche and Siesta. Tabitha was also walking with them, but she didn't seem to be contributing to the conversation. I smiled, thinking to how well she had adjusted to living here, she was even wearing the school uniform shoes now.

Wait a second, why would I notice her shoes? I took another look out the window and noticed that Louise was indeed, wearing school regulated shoes. Her shoes were about the last thing she had kept on wearing on a regular basis after getting her school uniforms. Maybe I was over thinking the situation, and maybe her shoes had finally given out. But it was hard coming to grips with that concept; she had spent so much time bragging how superior they were in her first days. It sort of made me feel like I was tearing her further away from her own home.

I went back to waxing as I thought this predicament over further. She had already started to accept the school as her home, but what if that was only a reaction? If she had the choice to go home or stay here, which would she choose? I started to try to imagine life without Louise, but I couldn't do it. Eventually, I heard a knock at the door.

"Saito? It's time for dinner." Louise said.

"Huh? It is?" I said as I looked out the window again. It was faint, but an orange tint was already coming into the sky. "I guess it is."

"Saito, how hard have you been working?" Louise asked as she came over to me.

"Uh, about four hors or so, why?"

"No, I didn't ask how long, I asked how hard." Louise said as she drew her finger around one of the desks.

"I don't quite understand Louise, how am I supposed to answer that?"

"Well, just look at your work. I heard that you were supposed to clean off scorch marks. When I walked in, I thought you had made new desks."

I looked around at my work for the first time and actually took it in. All the desks around the room were spotless. I was only to clean off my heavy scorching, but all scuffs and nicks were either gone or looked like they were intentional. I had to whistle in amazement.

"I guess I've worked pretty hard I guess." I chuckled. A growling stomach soon interrupted me. "And I also guess that means I'm hungry. Let's go grab some dinner Louise."

"Sure." She said, and so we left to go to the Dinning Hall. As we were making our way there, Louise asked a question that had obviously been bothering her. "Saito?"

"Yeah?"

"What were you thinking about while you were working?"

I stopped at the Hall doors and looked at her. She had a completely innocent face, just wanting to learn. Little did she know how that question was subtly torturing me.

"Not much." I lied. "I was just thinking about how much has changed since we met."

"All right." She said as she continued inside. "I was just wondering what could make you work so hard. I thought it might come to an advantage later."

"And what do you mean by that?" I quizzed her as I followed her inside.

"I'm not going to tell. And you can't make me." She said in a taunting voice, just made to get me angry. But I wasn't going to fall for that.

"Fine, have it your way. It doesn't seem like you got the answer you wanted anyways." I grinned and she pouted a little. I stopped for a second and reexamined what just happened. I silently swore to lessen the time Louise spent with Kirche.

When we sat down with the normal group, Louise started to fidget a bit, so I quickly served her up some of the pasta we were hang today and quickly started up a conversation of how everyone's classes had gone today. That seemed to at least keep her mind off of the eyes on her. I felt for their pressure and glanced in their direction.

It was a group of first year girls. I couldn't tell if it was because Louise was a commoner, a better mage, or because she was eating with Guiche (I personally hopped it wasn't the last one), but the second I recognized their glares, they turned back to their own conversation. Now that the general discomfort was gone, all that left was the deeper hate. That was going to take some caution to deal with, but it could be managed.

By the time dinner was over, Louise seemed to have relaxed and was more than ready to head to bed. So we said our good nights and headed off to the room. Now was my turn to ask a question that had been bothering me.

"Hey Louise." I said as we entered the dorm's lobby.

"Yeah Saito?"

"What were you talking about with Kirche and Siesta today? I saw you three along with Tabitha as I was working, and all of you seemed to be getting along."

"Oh, um, we were just talking about girl things." She avoided the question, hurrying a bit faster up the stairs.

"Like what, if it's not to personal." I said as I kept up with her.

"Nothing important." She said as she rushed to the fourth floor.

"This doesn't seem like nothing!" I called out as she slammed the door shut and I heard the bolt move into place. "Come on Louise, you can't leave me locked out here all night. You know I have no problems bursting the door open."

"Maybe not, but I can at least settle down first!" Louise called back.

"What?"

"Nothing!"

I sighed and just settled down on the ground across from the door and waited. I really didn't want to blow my own door open, and Louise was entitled to some privacy after what happed at lunch. So there I sat, thinking about the day, and planning for tomorrow.

Some time into that planning, I fell asleep.


	20. Undercover Faries

**Undercover Faires:**

I woke up the next day still in the hallway. But when I stretched, I noticed a blanket fall from my shoulders. I guess either Louise or Siesta felt sorry for me and gave me one for the night. Since I didn't have my own window, I went to the one at the end of the hall. The sun had yet to come over the school wall, so I figured we could run through the kitchen and grab some breakfast. That way Louise and I could just leave in the commoner clothes.

I went back to my room and tried the door. It was unlocked, so I guess figured I could come in some time after I fell asleep. In of course, Louise was still fast asleep in the bed, so I went over to wake her up for our long day.

"Louise." I said quietly as I shook her shoulder. "We have to get going."

"Ugh, another five minutes." She grumbled as she turned over.

"Sorry, can't do that today." I said as I pulled the covers off. She curled up a bit and shivered a bit before she sat up groggily.

"Did you really have to do that?" She asked as she rubbed her eyes.

"Yes. We have a schedule to keep to today. We need to swing by the kitchens for breakfast today. We need to leave school in no more than an hour from now." I said as I took off my school robe and shirt. "And we also need to be dressed as commoners as we leave. So, normal dressing arrangements." I tossed my shirt and robe into the basket and opened the drawer I had put the commoner clothes. I heard the curtains close, signaling that Louise was up.

When I was done, I was in a loose green tunic with brown pants. The belt I had been given was a nice fit and it kept the pouch with my wand in place. I walked to the door and called over my shoulder "When you're done, just come on out." I closed the door behind me and noticed the blanket was still on the ground, so I picked it up and folded it into a comfortable seat. And there I waited for a good two minutes.

When Louise finally came out, she was dressed in a white blouse and a long black dress. "Does this look ok? I think it's a bit loose." Louise said as she did some semi twirls.

"You look fine Louise." I said as I got up. "We should hurry up. I really don't want others to know where we're going. If they did, they would probably tell Kirche."

"And I don't want her following us." Louise finished for me. "Come on, an early breakfast means an earlier leave." Louise went on as she started going down the stairs.

"One moment. I still need to lock the door." I called.

"Well hurry up!"

I went to close the door when I noticed Derf was still lying next to the bed. Louise might have left him to look like an ordinary girl, but it also reminded me that I didn't have my sword on me. I went in and picked Derf and my sword up and put them on my shoulder and hip respectively. If it came down to it, I could throw Derf to Louise in a dire situation. I closed and locked the door and went after Louise.

"Okay, let's get going." I said as I caught up.

"Why are you bringing two swords?" Louise asked as we left out of the lobby.

"Well, I don't like the idea, but if we do come to harm, having a backup sword doesn't hurt."

"I guess you're right." Louise said. "I'll take Derf." She said as she held out a hand.

"Don't worry about it, they'll be on the horse soon enough, no need to trouble yourself."

"Oh, okay." Louise said as we went back to walking in silence. As we got to the kitchen, we saw Siesta and a burly man in conversation.

"… And then he wanted seconds!" The man laughed and Siesta gave a cute giggle.

"Why on earth would he do that?" Siesta asked.

"I don't know! That's what makes it hilarious!" The man continued laughing.

"Um, excuse me, Siesta?" I called out.

"Oh! Saito, Louise, what are you doing up so early? Actually, what are you two doing down here?" Siesta asked as she came over.

"They new staff?" The man asked.

"Oh no Chef, these are, uh, friends of mine." Siesta said. I saw how she obviously avoided saying nobles or students.

"Well, any friend of Siesta's is a friend of mine. Name's Cheflonsky, but people just call me Chef." Chef said as he held out a hand. I took it and he gave a very firm shake. "So, what are ya doing down here in the kitchens?"

"Well, Louise and I are leaving the school for a bit, so we were wondering if you could get us some breakfast before we leave."

"Can I? You three take a seat, breakfast for a noble will be up in no time!" Chef said as he waved to a nearby table and proceeded to one of the ovens. Siesta, Louise, and I took our seats and Siesta gave a small sigh.

"So is there a reason you didn't tell him? Not that I'm complaining, that's why we're up so early, but does Chef have some sort of grudge against the students?"

"He doesn't really." Siesta said, "but he does tend to have a prejudice that all of the students here are stuck up snobs."

"And he's about half right." Louise said. "If you saw anybody in the classes I go to, you could just finger the people who don't know a thing about real life."

"Yes, but if he gets to actually know a student, he might change his view. Just stick to being normal people right now though." Siesta finished as Chef came back.

"Here ya are, scrambled eggs and bacon. Eat up, got to have all the energy you can if you have to travel far." Chef said as he lay two big platters down and gave us three plates.

"Um, I really shouldn't." Siesta said as she started to stand. "I have my job to get to."

"Nonsense." I said as I tugged her back into her seat. "You have to have your own energy for your work. Besides, the more, the merrier."

"I like you already kid. What were your names again?" Chef said as he went back to the oven.

"I'm Saito and this is Louise." I said as Louise served herself a helping of breakfast.

"Well then Saito, if you ever feel the need for a quick meal or some advice, don't be a stranger. But right now, I've got to help prep the student's meal. I'll see you two around some time." And with that Chef left.

"He really doesn't seem like a bad guy." I said as I served myself my breakfast.

"He really isn't. He can be a bit gruff from time to time though." Siesta admitted as she took some eggs for herself. "So you two are heading out before anyone can see you?"

"Yeah, I thought it would be easier to leave in commoner clothes than change half way through the trip."

"I thought this was a secret, why are you talking to Siesta about it?" Louise asked, looking at us suspiciously.

"Ah, right, well, you see, after you passed out-" I caught Louise up with the time she had missed while she was out. Siesta put in her own side of the story and congratulated Louise on her performance. Louise looked shocked to have such praise, but just as quickly let it run to her head.

"Well, you can't just practice for that long and come out with nothing." She said.

"Yeah, and you can finish blowing your trumpet after we leave. People are going to be up and about soon, we need to get going." I said as I stood up from the table. "Like always Siesta, it was a pleasure having you as company."

"Th-The pleasure was mine." Siesta said as she gathered up the dishes quickly and put them in a sink to be cleaned. "I'll see you two soon?"

"I don't think it will take all that long." I waved.

"Maybe about a week and a half or so." Louise said.

"That long?" Siesta and I asked in unison.

"Well, it _is_ an undercover mission, isn't it? We can't just go in and demand answers. This will take time."

"I guess you're right, as usual." I sighed as I scratched my head. "Well, the faster we're off, the faster we get back. Bye Siesta." I waved as we left the kitchen.

"Bye you two." Siesta waved. She was smiling, but I could see a gleam of sadness. And for some reason, I was sad to see it there. I couldn't place why there would be any sorrow from leaving; it had been a lively meal. It just left me wondering until we ended up at the stables.

Louise went over to our stall and went in. I followed after her and found her already hitching up the horse.

"Sometime, I feel like I should never worry about you." I said as I helped her straighten out some of the straps for the gear.

"But you know you will." She said as she took my sword and Derf and packed them away.

"Yeah, I will." I admitted as I hoisted her up. I got on myself and took a hold of the reigns. I got us out of the school and down the path a bit before I set us into a full gallop.

The ride was tiring and monotonous, but the speed kept us from conversing. As Henrietta had predicted, it took us nearly the whole day to arrive at the town. As we reached the town edge, I slowed us down and gave our horse its third break for the day.

"So, where do you think we should stay?" I asked Louise. "I've never stayed anywhere below noble standard, but seeing as we can't do that, I figured we would take residence at a common inn. Do you have any ideas?"

"Um, why not take a small bit of time just going through the town? It's near dark, so Inn lights should be up and advertising."

"All right, you're the boss Louise." I said. I stirred the horse and we took our time through the town. I kept my head down to look like a wearied traveler, and that was easier to do than I thought it was going to be.

A few minutes into our tour through town, a very big and muscular man with a black moustache, goatee, and very red lips came up to us. He was wearing an extremely tight purple tang top and close fitting short, both of which showed off his muscles _very_ well.

"Oi, Monsieur! You two look absolutely ragged. Why not spend a night at my inn?" The man said _very_ flamboyantly. I looked up in the way he was directing me, and I saw a n Inn with a sign saying "Fairy Mansion".

"Uh." Louise shuddered.

"Um, maybe some other time perhaps? I'm currently looking for work, so we need a place really cheap right now, and your place doesn't look like it's hiring or all that cheap." I said as I tried to keep going.

"If it's a job you're looking for, I can easily hire!" The man called after us. "I can even find easy work for your mademoiselle there!"

"Saito, do we have to stay there? I really don't like the feeling there." Louise complained.

"Could you afford us a room for only a small cut to the pay?" I called back. "And a place for our horse?"

"Of course!" He said happily.

"It's a deal then, Mr. -?"

"Ah! My name is Scarron, but if you work for me, I would prefer you call me Mi Mademoiselle." Scarron said.

"All right, Mi Mademoiselle." I smiled. "Could you direct us to the stables and show us to our room?"

"I'll have one of the girls help!" Scarron said as he clapped his hands. As soon as he did, a woman poked her head outside the door of the Inn.

"Yes Father?"

"Jessica, what did I tell you?"

Jessica sighed. "Yes, Mi Mademoiselle?"

"Better! I need you to help our two new employees with a few things." Scarron called.

"Well, if it will get me away from work for a minute, sure." Jessica said as she came out and over. "So you two are the new help?"

"Seems like it. I'm Saito, and this is Louise." I said.

"Jessica, nice to meet you. Follow me to the back, we can set your horse up." She said as she started to go around the corner of the building. We followed after her.

"Saito, why did you agree so easily? Don't we have money?" Louise asked as she looked up at me.

"That's for absolute emergencies, and besides, I am drop dead tired, and I bet you are too. This was convenient and gives us a base of operations."

"A room in a sketchy Inn?"

"Beggars can't be choosers."

"And if beggars would pay attention, we're already here." Jessica said. As she said, we were at the gate of a small, but nice, stable. Louise and I got off and I took the horse inside. Louise, Jessica, and I took our luggage off and Jessica lead us inside through the back.

It was a bit loud, but due to being in a back room, the noise was muted a bit. Jessica led us up some stairs to the top floor and opened up one of the rooms. "Sorry if it's a bit dusty, I try to get to all the rooms, but it's been a little bit since I got to this one. We don't usually have workers who want to stay here."

"And why would that be?" I asked.

"So you have just come into town." Jessica sighed. "Father sure knows how to pick them. At least I can be honest then." Jessica put down the luggage she was carrying and opened the window of the room. "The tax collector around here likes taxing everyone for the most ridiculous things. Don't give him a refund for something he broke? He taxes your store for poor customer service. And if you don't serve him exactly what he wants, he won't tip and tax your store for each item of food. And even if you do get him what he wants, he still won't tip." Jessica said frustratingly.

"He sounds like a real problem." Louise said.

"But you're actually the lucky ones. If father hadn't found you, you would have been taxed for an entrance fee."

"But we don't even live here!" I complained.

"Chillan doesn't care if you live here or not. If he saw a fresh face like you two wandering around, he would have wringed every last coin out of you. Even staying here will have a risk."

"Which is why workers don't stay." I concluded.

"Yep." Jessica sighed. "If Chillan is to find out you two are staying here, he'll tax you for the rest of your salary. So right now, you two are guests. You can start working in the morning." And with that, Jessica left the room.

"Well, this is turning into an excellent operation." Louise sighed as she fell back onto the only bed. "Just how are we going to pull this off?"

"Well, we roll with the punches until we can catch Chillan in his own game." I sighed as I sat in the chair at the desk. "It's why we're here, we act like commoners, become victims of his tyranny, and turn it on him. We also have to find out why people are retracting their complaints."

"He's probably threatening to take all of their money if they go through with the complaint." Louise waved.

"But he couldn't do that if he was removed from power." I pointed out.

"Maybe he lifts taxes from those who don't go through with it?"

"Then what stops them from repeating the process?"

"Good point." Louise pondered. "Well, I'm tired, so I think we should go to bed."

"Yeah, let me just get out the cot." I said as I stood, and then it hit me how stupid that was. Louise also noticed and had a evil little smile. "There isn't a cot, is there?"

"Where do you think we are, school?" Louise asked, obviously having fun at my expense.

"Well, then it looks like we have to share the bed." I said. Louise's emotions immediately switched.

"W-What? We can't do th-that!" She stuttered, a pink flush coming to her cheeks.

"The bed's big enough, we can share it." I said.

"B-But, that's to close!"

"Oh please, Louise, do you honestly think I'll do anything?" I asked, a little hurt.

"I-I don't know, you've always been sleeping on the cot, and you are a boy."

"And you're my familiar. And as your summoner, I ask you to trust me, I won't do anything."

"For a week and a half?" Louise looked skeptical.

"As any gentleman, I shall keep my word." I swore.

"F-Fine then, just keep to your side." Louise said.

"Ai ai Madame." I said. We changed in our usual fashion and got under the covers. I turned away from Louise to feel like I had some sort of privacy on the bed. "Goodnight Louise."

"Night Saito." Louise said curtly. I sighed and turned off the lamp.


	21. Fitting In

**Fitting In:**

The morning was just as uncomfortable as going to sleep. I had to gingerly get out of the bed without disturbing Louise so that I could get to some early surveillance without disturbing her. I also didn't want her to think that I had done anything last not and get hurt for it. Louise might not be able to hurt me out right, usually, but reactions still seemed to get through the familiar binding.

I got dressed for some manual labor and headed down stairs. It was barely daybreak, but I could already hear running water and the clatter of dishes. When I got down stairs, I saw Jessica washing some dishes and about four people eating. I knocked on the door to announce my presence, and it got Jessica's attention.

"Morning Saito, you an early riser?" She asked as she kept doing the dishes.

"A bit, it does seem like I have to wake Louise up each morning." I said as I walked over and started to help with the dishes. I hadn't done it a lot, but survival training doesn't go to waste. A little bit in and Jessica and I had a rhythm going when I heard the thumps of someone coming down the stairs. I peeked out the serving window and saw it was a burly looking man with a full beard.

"Jessica, I think we have a customer looking for a meal." I said.

"Can you go get his order? When you have it, get back here and I'll whip it up." She said without even looking up from her work. I shrugged and headed over to the man's table.

"Can I get anything today sir?" I asked with as polite of tone I could get with the whisky that was still on his breath.

"Some water and eggs, scrambled." He said in a short, gruff voice.

"Coming up." I said softly, just in case the man had a hangover. I headed back to the kitchen. "Man wants a glass of water and some scrambled eggs."

"How much eggs?" Jessica asked.

"I didn't check, does it matter?"

"Yes it does, however many eggs we use have their own price. If we do two servings of single eggs, the man could feel jipped and not come back, have you ever worked in the food business?"

"Uh, no, I'll be right back." I said as I went to the man again. "I'm sorry to bother you again sir, but how many eggs did you want?"

"Two." He said groggily. "And where's my water?"

"Right up sir." I said as I slipped back to the kitchen. "Two scrambled eggs, and where can I get the water?"

Jessica took one of the recently cleaned glasses and filled it with cold tap water and handed it to me. "Here, I'll get on the eggs, when you get back, keep up with the dishes."

"Yes ma'm." I said as I took the glass to the man's table. "Here you go sir, your eggs will be right out."

"They better be." He grumbled. I headed back to the kitchen to the sound of frying eggs. I went back to the dishes and kept at it. A little while later Jessica came back and started to help me again.

"So are morning usually this slow?" I asked, wondering if I should wake Louise up in the mornings.

"It depends on how stuffed we are from the night before. But breakfast is usually the slow meal, just the lodgers and the early wanderer, kind of like you would have been this morning."

"Oh, so when will Louise need to be up?"

"About ten or so, that's when the early girls come in."

"Early girls?"

"Oh, right, you went straight to your room yesterday. Yeah, see, my father runs The Fairy Mansion very strictly on the 'fairy' part. We'll have to measure Louise for her uniform though."

"Whoa, whoa, uniform?" I said as I stopped washing to look at Jessica.

"Well, what did you expect when you saw 'Fairy Mansion'? I hope you didn't think this was a normal Inn; we would never make any of the money needed to make it in this town. Here, come with me, I'll show you what she'll need to wear."

"And what about me?"

"You'll be working in the back with me on washing and cooking, probably washing though, seeing as you've never worked in this business before." Jessica said as she headed into the back. I shook my hands dry and followed Jessica into the back storage. "Aaaand, here we are." She said as she opened up a fairly large wardrobe.

And what I saw didn't lift my spirits up any. Oh sure, the dresses were lovely, vibrantly colored and a myriad of designs, it was just their basic concept.

"These are a bit, uh, short." I commented.

"Well, they kind of have to be, otherwise there wouldn't be any attraction for the customers." Jessica said.

"And frilly."

"Yes, your point is?"

"This is going to be one hell of a hard sell to Louise." I said as I scratched my head.

"Well, you better convince your girlfriend fast, because you working alone won't cover your room."

"Whoa, hold on there. Louise is _not_ my girlfriend. Don't even let her _hear_ that. She'll never go for this then."

Jessica just sighed. "Well, you might want to go wake her up now then, because if it comes time for serious business and she's not to getting a uniform, I don't think my father will give you the room again." She said as she crossed her arms.

"I guess you're right." I sighed. "Can I take one of these to show her?"

"Only as long as you don't do anything horrible with it with your not girlfriend." She smiled.

"I'll just take that as a yes and ignore the implications." I said as I took a blue uniform from the wardrobe and headed up stairs. When I got to the room, I stopped and took a second to collect my thoughts. I knocked quietly, and when I didn't get a response, I opened the door to find Louise was still sleeping.

"Honestly, she would sleep forever if I didn't wake her up." I sighed. I put the uniform on the desk and shook Louise. "Hey sleepyhead, we have some things to discuss."

"Ugh, later Saito, take it up with Siesta." She grumbled as she buried her face in her pillow.

"Um, Louise? We're at the Fairy Mansion, remember?" I reminded her, wondering why she would think I would go to Siesta with my problems.

Louise grumbled a bit more and sat up, rubbing her eyes. "So what do you want? Do I have to be up this early to work?"

"Not exactly, but I do need to talk to you about the work here." I said, prepping myself to tell her about the uniforms.

"What? Like I have to wear some sort of skimpy, frilly dress while I work?"

"Actually, yes." I hesitated, waiting for her outburst, but she just sighed.

"I figured as much. I'll do it, just don't get any funny ideas. Is that all?"

"Um, yeah, that was." I said, relieved that she had agreed so easily.

"Good, don't wake me up until I absolutely have to get to work." And with that, Louise flopped back down and curled up in the blankets. I got up and took the uniform back down stairs. I put it away and went back to the kitchen.

"Well, that was shorter than I was expecting." Jessica said, looking at me amazed.

"Same here. She didn't even raise any question, just that she only be woken when she had to be."

"Well, like I said, around ten or so. She can be dressed in a regular serving outfit until about five, and in that time, father can measure her for her uniform."

"Scarron? _He's_ going to measure Louise?"

"Oh don't worry about his skills, he's the one who made all of those outfits you saw in the wardrobe."

"_All _of those?" I asked in amazement, but then snapped back to my original concern. "Actually, that's not what I was worrying about…"

"Don't worry about the cost of making the uniform. Father takes a simple pleasure in tailoring and tinkering with the uniforms."

"That's not it either…"

Jessica just stopped and looked at me. "Do you honestly think my father, _my_ father, would do _anything_ to an innocent little girl."

I stopped and thought. "No, in fact, I get the feeling he's trying to be one."

"It's a good thing you caught on. Father can get quite, um, _adamant_ to make that point." Jessica said as she continued with the dishes.

"Oh." Was all I could say as I continued with the dishes. The rest of the morning went without incident; Jessica and I swapped taking orders and washing the seemingly never-ending dishes. I even got some points in how to cook, and by ten o'clock, I could make a decent batch of bacon and eggs, pancakes still alluded me though.

When it did get to ten, I started to notice a steam of girls starting to come in. Not knowing whether they were part of the staff or more customers, I let Jessica handle them as I went up to wake up Louise.

I knocked cautiously on the door, and actually got a response. "What is it?" Louise called out groggily.

"It's ten and the rest of the staff is showing up. Get dressed in regular working clothes for now. We'll let our boss tell us the rest."

"All right, I'll be out in a minute." Louise said back, already sounding more awake. I waited five minutes in the hallway before Louise came out in regular clothes.

"Honestly, what takes you so long? I can get dressed like that in like 30 seconds." I said as I started to head back downstairs.

"Well excuse me if I want to look presentable for my first day of work. I can tell you got up in less than a minute." She shot.

"For your information, I've been working for the last four hours while you kept sleeping." I shot back as I got to the bottom of the stairs.

"Well excuse me for wanting to rest like a normal person, not everyone can have a drill sergeant for a father."

"What's this about a drill sergeant?" Jessica asked as she looked in from the kitchen.

"It's a figure of speech." I said quickly. "I have a very strict father."

"Oh, if that's all, father wants Louise out front for introductions." And with that, Jessica went back to the kitchen.

"What part of 'undercover' don't you understand?" I hissed. "You could have just blown our cover!"

"Sorry." Louise said, actually being apologetic. "Well, time for introductions then." And with that, we came out into the main room to a round of applause, lead by Scarron. I hadn't seen him all morning, so I was more than a bit surprised to see his very intimidating figure bouncing up to us, light as a feather.

"WELCOME! We didn't have an opportunity to welcome you as part of the Fairy Mansion family yesterday." Scarron said as he got behind us and got a hand on both of our shoulders. "Girls, your new coworker is petite Louise here, and our new help is Saito here." He said as he shook us in accordance to introduction. My right shoulder was very sore after that. But more than that, my pride felt a bit of a strike being called help, it felt lower than coworker. Scarron then took his hand off of me and put both of them on Louise. "Now Louise dear, if you'll come with me, I'll get you sized for your uniform. You're okay with it right?"

"I'm happy if you're happy, Mi Mademoiselle." Louise said with a small smile. This just made Scarron break out into a fit of giddiness.

"Ohhh! I like that attitude Louise, I'll make your uniform as perfectly as I can."

"I'm sure you would have done that anyways." Louise said, still with her smile.

"And right you are! Now girls, get ready, the lunch rush will begin in just an hour!"

"Oui, Mi Mademoiselle!" The girls called out in unison. As Scarron and Louise disappeared into the back, the girls set about straightening out the Inn from the morning crowd. I slipped into the kitchen to see Jessica at the oven, overlooking a roasting chicken.

"So, when is it going to really pick up?" I asked, we had finally gotten done with the dishes, so there was nothing for me to do.

"You heard my father, the rush will come through in about an hour, but expect some customers to drift through between now and then." Jessica said as she took the chicken out.

"Yippe." I said with absolutely no enthusiasm. "So, when do the girls out there start wearing the uniforms?"

"Why, want to see your girlfriend in it that desperately?" Jessica said with a smirk.

"N-No! I just, don't want Louise to be in that thing _all_ day. And what did I say about the relationship thing?"

"Sorry, it's just you two were bickering like a pair of newly weds. And if you could remember anything within four hours, we don't change the servers into the uniforms until five. And until then, Louise can learn how to be a waitress."

"Well, I don't think we have to worry about that. She already seems to be on Scarron's good side, and she's a fast study."

"Good, because being a waitress is a fast job." Jessica said as she put another raw chicken in the oven.

Surprisingly, Louise was a fast study of being a waitress. After her first three tables, she was making orders, serving them out, and bringing it all back flawlessly. Unfortunately, this gave me little time to actually do the dishes she was bringing back. Not to mention, there were also about five other waitresses doing the exact same. I'm not even sure how Jessica managed to simultaneously help me with the dishes _and_ cook everything that was being called up.

At around three, it slowed down enough that I could finally take a break. I went into the main room and just collapsed into one of the chairs. Louise came over and sat down with me, she also looked winded.

"Well, how was that for customer service?" She smiled.

"I have no idea, I was to busy washing the same dishes over and over again. If there isn't a huge commotion, I'll call it good." I smiled back.

"Well this is a first." Jessica said as she came out and joined us. "I actually have enough free time to take a break."

"Did you do that all by yourself before I came in here?" I asked.

"Yes and no. We don't really have all that much money to spare to hire good help, you two were a steal to hire." She smiled. "We get a new dish washer and a new waitress for the price of one room and a small pay check."

"Is your father really that frivolous?" I asked.

"I wouldn't say frivolous, just very giving. If it weren't for me watching the budget, I think he would have run this place into the ground years ago."

"Jessica, how long have you been working here?" Louise asked.

"I don't know really, I was always hanging around, doing random chores here and there, and one day, boom, running management." She smiled. "This is actually a first were I haven't talked all business."

"You should do it more often, I hear people are excellent being to talk to." I smiled.

"Hush you, or I'm leaving you alone with those dishes for dinner." Jessica smiled slyly.

"Please don't." I said immediately, making both girls laugh.

"Well, I might as well start the dinner specials." Jessica said as she stood. "Louise, you should go check on your uniform. Saito, I expect you back in the kitchen in at least ten minute."

"Aye aye ma'm." I said with a slight salute. When I was sure she out of earshot, I whispered to Louise, "So, what's the local grumble?"

"Mostly just general taxation and how no one but travelers are buying anything anymore." Louise whispered back. "Nothing specific."

"Well, maybe we can get some more when people are drunk and speaking freely." I whispered. "But until then," I said in a normal tone. "We should enjoy our break. How about we go see the uniform?"

"Um, Saito, I'd rather you didn't." Louise said with a slight flush.

"Louise, you're going to be wearing it in front of multitudes of strangers. If you can't wear your uniform in front of me and Scarron, we're in trouble."

"F-Fine, just don't ogle." She said as she stood abruptly. She marched to the back room door and went through.

"I can't give an answer when you leave like that." I sighed. I followed after her into the back and wandered around a bit until I heard Scarron's voice.

"I made it as perfect a fit I could. I'm so glad one of the old ones was in your color! If it's tight anywhere, just tell me!" He said a bit to excitedly.

"No, no, it's fine Mi Mademoiselle." Louise said. "It's a perfect fit." And as she said that, I came around the corner to find Louise standing on a small pedestal in a bright pink uniform. Louise might have been small, and breasts nonexistent, as I now inspected, but the uniform showed off every point she did have flawlessly.

The dress did fit to her perfectly, and even highlighted a few of the weaker points. The dress was pure white with black bowties around her neck and directly underneath her cleavage. Like I thought, the dress it's self barely covered any of her legs, but overall, she was beautiful.

"What do you think Saito?" Scarron asked as he saw me. Louise also noticed me, tried to cover herself, had second thoughts, and then just stood there looking down.

"Well, personally, the dress could be a bit longer, but it looks beautiful." I said honestly. "I don't think anyone could resist seeing her."

"And that's the whole point of the Fairy Mansion!" Scarron said as he clapped his hands. "To spread beauty to everyone's hearts is my passion, and the Fairy Mansion is perfect for just that! Now, I need you two out of here while I get ready for the announcements." And with that, we were shooed out.

"Any idea on what he's going to announce?" I asked as I looked down at Louise.

"I don't know." She shrugged. "Maybe some sort of tip war or something."


	22. Helter Skelter Work

**Helter Skelter Work:**

I was surprised when Louise wasn't the slightest bit off of her prediction. When it rolled around to five, patrons started flooding in, along with all of the waitresses changing into their 'unique' uniforms. It got noisy fast, but just as soon as it had started getting to rowdy, I heard Scarron's clapping over all of it. I took a second away from washing to peek out the order window.

Scarron was standing on a small raised platform, getting everyone's attention, both curious of his actions, and furious for stopping theirs.

"Everyone, as you all know, each year I hold a competition to see who you all prefer as the Fairy Mansion's best fairy, so now start's this year's Tipping War!" Accompanied by this announcement was a loud roar of agreement from the crowd. "And you all know, whoever wins gets to wear the original enchanted fairy dress!" Scarron yelled over all of them, yet still somehow keeping his attempt at a girlish voice.

That only made the crowd grow louder. Scarron stepped down and everything seemed to move in double time. There were more orders coming in left and right, I had to even pitch in to help cook. Before I even realized it, everything came to a grinding halt as it came to closing time. It wasn't until I sat down until I realized how tired I was.

"I'm impressed." Jessica huffed as she sat down next to me. "Most first time workers collapse way before this. Are you absolutely sure you haven't done this before?"

"If I had, would that make a difference on how tired I am now?" I asked as my head rolled to look at her. I couldn't even muster the strength to hold my head up properly.

"I guess not." Jessica chuckled. "But hey, a few days of this, and a regular night won't be a thing."

"A few more days of this and I might be dead from exhaustion."

"How do you think I feel?" Louise complained as she collapsed into one of the other chairs. She had changed back into her normal clothes, which really didn't do anything to bring out how beautiful she had been in her uniform. "I have to keep running up and down for random people all the while having to entertain _all_ of them."

"Why, it's not like the prize is anything special, just another dress." I waved.

"A-Actually, Scarron told me I could get whatever I wanted while wearing that dress." Louise said, drawing back a bit. I brightened a bit at this concept.

"Then it would be easier to gain info- I mean, traveling money." I caught myself.

"All right, what's up with you two?" Jessica asked, looking for anything suspicious.

"What are you talking about?" I asked as innocently as I could. Unfortunately for me, exhaustion doesn't help with lying.

"Don't try to pull that kind of bull on me Saito. I know a high class personal when I see one. You rode into town on a good horse, two swords, and a defiant look in your eye. A lower class man, no, boy, wouldn't even to say he had one of those things." She accused, now leaning in. "You two are here for something, and if your little 'base of operations' is for some sort of underhanded deal, I won't think twice turning you two over to Chillan, corrupt or not, he's one of the highest powers here. And I won't let this business go under because of you two." She was now intently glaring at both Louise and I.

I was hesitating. I didn't know whether or not Jessica would rat us out if we told her the truth. But before I could decide, Louise made the decision for me.

"You got us, we're not normal people. But could we say this in our room? Here is a bit to public."

"Here is just fine." Jessica said as she leaned back and crossed her arms. "Whatever it is, I'm not putting myself somewhere you could easily ambush me."

"Jessica, come on, we've all been working all day; do you think we have enough strength to actually do anything?" I complained. Going upstairs right now sounded so pleasant, there was a bed there calling my name, and I wanted to answer.

"Here is as secure as it's going to get." Scarron said, uncharacteristically serious. "We're booked up for the night and the walls are thinner than the floor. So start talking." He said as he pulled another chair up to the table.

I sighed in defeat. "Okay, we're actually a pair of students from the Tristain School of Magic, sent here by Princess Henrietta to investigate Chillan."

"Investigate?" Jessica practically shouted. She checked herself, but continued in a harsh whisper. "What's there to investigate? I've heard of plenty of people lodging complaints against Chillan!"

"That's just it." Louise said. "They get lodged and almost immediately retracted. Since the Princess has no official, standing complaints, she can't do anything. She's politically tied."

"She's being a coward, that's what she is." Jessica hissed.

"Hey!" I practically shouted myself.

"Now Jessica, you're being to harsh." Scarron scolded his daughter. "How could we charge a customer for something he ate if he had no food or plate?"

"But we know he ordered!" Jessica retorted.

"But the other customers don't." Scarron pointed out. "And if they saw us trying to throw a guest out for no substantial reason, what would happen?"

"The customers would stop coming." Jessica said with a cooler head.

"Exactly, except for the Princesses situation, she would have a high scale outburst for reprimanding a man with no actual evidence."

"Then what about us?" Jessica asked as she turned back to Louise and I. "Chillan hasn't kept off our backs, what if we lodged-"

"No." I cut in. "The thing is, we don't know if Chillan is doing anything to the lodgers. We know they're fine when the investigator comes, but we don't know what happens after that. If you were to lodge a complaint, I don't know if we could do anything to make sure you would be safe, even before we left. There's nothing that suggest he's working alone. He could send people after even after he goes."

"Oh." Was all Jessica said in response.

"Our plan has been to come into town under the cover as travelers, and you provided us an excellent reason to stay, Mi Mademoiselle." I complemented Scarron. "But I'm coming up short on actual intelligence gathering."

"Well, I think you're idea before was a good one." Louise said. "I figured out that the people who have lodged complaints about unfair taxes have either moved away or disappeared all together, but I'm not quite sure how accurate random drunken rambling can be."

"It usually isn't very accurate." Jessica said. "Drunkards usually say whatever they personally think, basing nothing on fact."

"But that's a rambling drunkard." Scarron pointed out. "A questioned drunkard usually thinks very clearly and answers honestly. Perhaps we can help after all Jessica." Scarron said, brightening up.

"How?" I asked, thoroughly curious.

"Well, my girls aren't all sugar and goodness. If they were told that gathering intel on Chillan would get him out of their lives, I don't doubt for a second the would all jump at the opportunity."

"Sounds good." I responded. "And if that's all, I'm heading to bed." I said as I stood up a bit shakily.

"Here, let me help." Louise said as she stood straight up and supported my right side. "I'm feeling tired too, anyways." And with that, we headed upstairs. I'm not sure if the hurried whispering behind us was my imagination or if Scarron and Jessica were actually discussing the school.

I didn't quite care though. As we opened the door, Louise and I mutually collapsed onto the bed. After a little bit of squirming to get under the covers, I fell asleep.

…

I woke up with a groan as a ray of light was relentlessly beating down on my eyes. As I cracked my eyes open, I had to keep myself very well in check as to not wake up Louise, who was now currently curled up in my chest. I don't know how or why this happened, but I knew for a fact that if she woke up like this, nobody would be sleeping in the Inn afterwards, and I'm pretty sure Scarron and Jessica wouldn't have an Inn.

I carefully pulled myself away from Louise and slipping a pillow in for her to cuddle against. When I finally got out of the bed, I had to sit down from how sore my legs were. As I sat there getting used to the pain from the soreness, I examined Louise. For however small she was, I could hardly imagine her to actually possess magic strong enough to destroy high-class barriers and multitudes of low defense space.

But what confused me more was the seemingly endless war she had between her conscious and subconscious. When Louise was awake, she kept herself at a respectful distance and crushed any thought that we were a couple. But the second she falls asleep and acts on impulses, she clasps on to me, never wanting to let go. I don't know if it was just the familiar bonding or something else, but something obviously was going on with Louise's behavior.

I sighed and stopped thinking about it. I went downstairs to see if Jessica needed help, seeing as the Inn was packed yesterday. But as I got downstairs, I couldn't find anybody, not even Jessica. By this time yesterday, Jessica had already been milling around the kitchen and men waking up, but now it just seemed like a ghost town.

Seeing as no one was around and that there was no work, I just sat down at the table the four of us had last night. And there I sat, just thinking about the last night's planning session and trying to think of better ways of catching Chillan in the act of his crimes. Ten minutes later, I was still sitting there, undisturbed, and without any better ideas.

Seeing as no one was coming downstairs and I didn't know how to find my boss, I decided a morning stroll wouldn't be a bad thing. I might even be able to hear some tidbits from the locals of events that went down last night. I didn't have to ask anybody though; I could see it for myself.

Over many of the windows of opposing shops were boarded up, and if they weren't, then they were broken. That's when I noticed that the Fairy Mansion windows were also boarded up. I quickly and quietly closed the doors and headed to the back room.

I must have been so tired that I slept through whatever happened; whatever had happened was obviously very violent. I just went back to the kitchen and started doing the dishes. I knew they didn't need to be done, but I felt like I needed to do something while I thought, and swordplay wasn't an option.

What could do this? It was a fair part into the day and no one was even beginning to mingle. Sure, damage might be severe, but this is the time that neighbors would help each other, right? Why would no one brave coming outside?

"Do you need any help with those imaginary stains?" I heard Jessica ask from the door to the kitchen. I didn't bother to stop as I responded.

"What happened last night? Why are there broken and boarded windows?"

"Ah, so you went outside then?"

"Briefly."

"That's just what happens around here. At random times throughout each week, bandits come through and raid. They only ever attack the places that don't board up in time."

"And why has no one reported _this_?" I asked, stopping what I was doing. "Can no one speak up for help, or is everyone to stubborn?"

"No." Jessica said simply. "The people aren't stubborn, or scared even, it's that we can't. The people here get taxed for the most ridiculous of things, one of which is a toll to leave town."

"And how much is that?"

"About enough for a good horse and three days of supplies."

"And let me guess, Chillan keeps the funds high enough that no one can afford to do that twice."

"Exactly." Jessica responded. "And this is one of the reason's why I blame the nobles for letting Chillan get away with what he's doing."

"So what is he doing, huh?" I snapped finally turning to her. "He taxes a town for what he thinks is reasonable. Granted, that's not what everyone else thinks as reasonable, but is there anything in town that you have that you take for granted?"

"Yes." Jessica replied without a blink of an eye.

"And what's that?" I asked sarcastically.

"The early warning system."

"What early warning system?"

"A system meant to deter the bandits by having local soldiers help alert the town of oncoming attacks, door by door. And if you don't pay for this 'service', it's a 50-50 chance that you don't get robbed. Last night, father and I were lucky enough to see a guard leaving the bakery across the street."

I just kept myself against the counter. "I don't think I can take a week of this." I sighed.

"Then pay the toll and leave then." Jessica said simply. "You can just leave this to the common folk and go live in your fancy estate."

"I said I didn't think I can, doesn't mean I won't." I smiled grimly. "And whoever said being a noble was easy? You try growing up with two extremely more talented and overbearing siblings."

"Thanks," Jessica grinned, "But I think my father and the Inn are enough."

"Well then, should we wake the Inn up, or should we just close for the day?"

"Are you kidding? I don't want all of those men staying here for free." Jessica laughed. We both went about the cautious task of getting hung over and half drunk men out of their rooms and a decent breakfast.

…

Over the course of the next week, everything was pretty much monotonous. An early morning serving men breakfast, dealing with the lunch rush, and juggling the noise, dishes, and food of dinner. There was also the point of trying to make sure no one made any indecent moves on Louise, but she and the other servers seemed to have each other covered when it came to that, even in a tip war.

The only really different parts were the meetings Louise, Scarron, Jessica, and I conducted after closing. As it turned out, a lot of the 'early warning' guards liked the Fairy Mansion for it's unique 'tastes'. This meant they got sloshed enough to spill that the entire system was a hoax.

Turn's out, Chillan was playing both sides of the coin. He would tax for the protection, and rob anyone who didn't pay. In all fairness, it was a simple, but ingenious plan. Unfortunately, the ramblings of a drunken man aren't something that I could take to Henrietta as direct evidence.

"But they admitted that Chillan's corrupt!" Jessica stated for the third time. "And he's the fifth one to say it, too!"

"But unless I have a full confession from a _sober_ man, I can't say anything as definite. This was an excellent way to gain the information, but now we need a legitimate way to get it out of them." I retorted.

"I still say you should confront him directly." Jessica huffed.

"And what have I told you of the last time we did that?" Louise asked. "The last time we did something like that, we got away based on the man's greed. But that's the problem here, bribing this man to stop would only further the problem."

"But then what else is there left to do?" Jessica said defeatedly. "Chillan never comes here himself, so we couldn't even get a drunken confession out of him."

"What if we tweaked the tip war to interest him?" I suggested.

"But the Tip War is traditional to go on each year, we can't just change it at the end of the week!" Scarron exclaimed, seemingly distraught.

"But that's just it. A change to a tradition would be enough to get his attention. We already have a good portion of the guards coming, if we were to throw in some special reward for the one who tipped the most, who wouldn't want in?"

"But we don't keep a tally of who tips how much to which server." Jessica pointed out.

"Do your customer's know that?"

"Well, no."

"Excellent then. Now, we just need to spread the word."

"About what?" Louise interjected. "We don't even have a plan on what the reward will be."

"But that's already taken care of Louise." I said with a grin. "There's one of two ways I see this coming out. Either Chillan falls for this and we get him booted from the town, or he doesn't. If we get Chillan booted out, don't you think that's enough of a reward for everyone?"

"And if we fail?" Jessica asked.

"I'd go with the optimistic view and say the Fairy Mansion gets more money."

"Uh huh." Jessica didn't look impressed.

"Well, what are we waiting for?" Scarron asked. "Spread the word."

"Mi Mademoiselle, it's ten at night, who are we going to tell?" Louise asked.

"The other patrons of course." Scarron said simply. "In the morning, they'll tell every man they can that there is something no one's going to want to miss tomorrow." He gave a devilish smile.

So for the rest of the night, the four of us quietly creped up and down the halls, spreading seeds of an event that wasn't going to happen.

I just hoped Chillan would be gullible enough to fall for this.


	23. The Fairy Revolt

**The Fairy Revolt:**

So the next morning came around with both Louise and I waking up to a loud crash. We both got dressed hurriedly and dashed downstairs to find Scarron serving tables, at seven a.m. The place was practically a wreck. There were half-drunks and the early comers packed in to the walls. It was like high dinner rush in the morning. When we got into the room, Jessica spotted us.

"Saito, Louise! Get your butts to work! Someone leaked the special detail this year and now we're packed!" She yelled as I saw a wink. "Saito! Get in here and help me cook! Louise, take over for Mi Mademoiselle so that he can go get the other waitresses!"

"Yes Ma'm!" We both called, Louise relieving Scarron and I dashed to the kitchen. After that, the entire day seemed to go by in a blur. I was turning out dish after dish to any waitress that came by. I only knew we switched to lunch because Scarron called out that the waitresses would be getting into uniform at noon instead of five today. And of course, a round of cheers went up at this announcement.

I don't know how Jessica and I managed cooking and cleaning for so many, but orders just kept on coming in. And seeing as no one was complaining (about us at least), everything was going fine. Most of the complaints I did hear were about how crowded it was, with a few about Chillan here and there. At one point, I started hearing word going around about what the special reward was going to be for the highest spender.

I heard that someone was going to spend a 'night' with their choice of a waitress, they would get their contribution and a percentage back, and that they would own the Fairy Mansion. I listened to these wild speculations and just chuckled at just how wild they were getting. Some of them did disturb me, like the 'night' spending one, especially how many laughs and claps it got. But the higher the rumor was bolstered, the better the bait was.

Near eight, everything went silent. This nearly made me drop the platter of chicken I had just finished preparing. After a full day of noise, sudden silence is a bit unnerving. I went to the serving window to see what was going on.

A fat man, barely even my height, in a green and gold tunic with a red cape had just walked in. I wouldn't have had a problem with that, if it weren't for his blatant smirk, ratty eyes, and line drawn moustache. This man was accompanied by at least for of the guards from around the town, so I took this man to be Chillan, the tax collector of the town. Just his mere presence made me question how he was making people stay quiet, because it was obviously not by his 'intimidating' looks.

"Well well well, look at all the money flying around here, I thought I heard oddly heavy coin pouches." Chillan said in a snide voice, making me cringe from how oily it was. There was a line to how condescending someone could be, and this man leaped over it. I wanted to throttle the man, but Scarron hurried over to the man.

"Chillan, what can I do for you? If you would like a seat, I'm afraid we're full up right now." I saw him say with a strained smile.

"I'm sure someone is willing to give up their seat." Chillan said with a sly smile as he snapped his fingers. His guards all drew out small rifles and held them at half ready position. A table of men immediately stood up, tipped their waitress and all left. "See? Some of your patrons were just getting done." He said as he sat down with a heavy 'thump' and the chair squeaking under him. As he sat, Louise came over with obvious signs of stopping herself from retching right there.

"What can I get for you and your men sir?" She asked with a plastered smile.

"I'll just be having a tall glass of the best beer. Nothing here is really interesting me, I just want to see what this big secret surprise is." Chillan sighed as he rolled his eyes around to Louise, just to immediately perk up. "Actually, add a well done steak to that as well, as long as you stay with it."

"Coming right up sir." Louise said as she got away as fast as she could. Conversation started to come back slowly throughout the Inn as Louise made it back to the serving window.

"Please tell me I don't actually have to stay with that man." She gasped as she got to Jessica and I. "I'm repulsed that I have to talk to him, much less the thought of him touching me. I would rather be back at Mott Manor, at least he kept appearances of a decent man."

"Unfortunately, we don't have a policy against waitress appointments." Jessica sighed as she went about preparing Chillan's steak. "In fact, some of the waitresses do it to get better tips."

"And this just gives you a better opportunity." I urged. "He's already ordered some pretty heavy alcohol, if we can get him to talk, I don't think he could cover up the entire place hearing him. Here," I said as I handed Louise the drink he had ordered. "Keep close to Chillan, but I'll keep watch to make sure nothing happens."

"And if something does happen?" Louise asked, obviously not believing I'd do anything.

"I know how to use more than a sword." I said, quickly revealing the pouch that was holding my wand that was under my apron.

"But that will blow our cover!" Louise pounded the counter, immediately shying from the outburst. "This will all be for nothing." She hissed.

"That may very well be, but I won't stand by while Chillan would make advances on you." I emphasized as I pushed the glass to Louise further. I also noticed Louise had drawn back a bit further, hiding her face behind her hair. Before I could see what was wrong, Louise grabbed up the glass and headed back over to Chillan. I couldn't hear what he was saying anymore because the rabble had picked back up, but I could hear bursts of laughter from him every once in a while.

I had to get back to cooking and cleaning, but I tried to keep a close eye on Chillan's table. Louise did look uncomfortable, but Chillan seemed to be enjoying himself too much to notice. Everything seemed to be going fine until about half an hour later when I heard a loud crash come from the main area. I dropped the dishes I was washing back into the sink and rushed to the window to see what it was. Unsurprisingly, it involved Chillan.

"What do you mean I can't know what the prize is?" He asked angrily. "Didn't I pay enough for this meal?" Chillan was standing with a half empty glass of his alcohol and a smashed plate. Louise was looking very uncomfortable sitting there having to watch Scarron get scolded.

"I'm sorry sir," Scarron was trying to calm the half drunken man down. "But the prize is supposed to be a secret until the Tip War is over. Until then, no one but myself and the staff know."

"And how was everyone supposed to know that?" Chillan asked irritably.

"But sir, that's what makes it a surprise secret." Scarron said with a hesitant smile.

"And how am I supposed to win this 'so called' prize?"

"Well, you just simply have to be the one who had given the most tips throughout the entire week."

"_The entire week?"_ Chillan outburst. "How was anyone to know that this would happen?"

"Well, it is a tradition of the Fairy Mansion." Scarron tried to reason.

"And this is the first time I've heard of this. So tell me, how could anyone who hasn't come here regularly know of this restriction?"

"They wouldn't." I said as I stormed over to the chunky man. "The entire point is to reward customers for repeated business."

"And who are you?" Chillan asked me in disdain.

"I'm the guy who came up with the idea."

"You? And how long have you been working here?"

"A little over a week." I said, trying not to get any angrier than I already was at this little man. He was at least a head and a half shorter than me.

"So just long enough to see this through?" Chillan scoffed. "And how did you know of this Tip War?"

"I didn't, but Mi Mademoiselle here said it was tradition, so I thought that _loyal_ patrons deserved some sort of reward for repeated business."

"And why wasn't this run by me?" Chillan asked, completely throwing me off.

"Excuse me? Why would business events have to run by you?"

"Have you no idea who I am boy?" Chillan asked, gathering up a superior air. "I am of her Royalties wealth collection. Anything that is to help the crown financially comes through me."

"Does personal gain go through there too?" I asked, completely appalled by how superior this man was acting.

"Of course!" He announced. "Personal gains count to the basis of the crown. If money is to flow fluently, I _must_ know."

"Nothing can 'flow' with a choke hold on it." I argued. "When you build a dam, water doesn't flow. Or will you say a road block let's traffic through?" I jabbed at Chillan's ridiculous taxes.

"What are you insinuating, _boy._" Chillan exercised the term boy. "Are you challenging that I _don't_ have this communities welfare in mind?" He asked as he downed the last of his alcohol.

"No!" I finally blew from how pompice this idiot was getting. "I only need to live here a week to see how you run this place. Shop's ransacked, a closed community, and a fearful populace. I'd rather say you collect from this town as your own cash cow!"

"How dare you!" Chillan exclaimed as he drew his wand out and pointed it at me. His five guards immediately stood up and aimed their own rifles at me. "A low class peasant like you has no place contradicting how I run this town. I give to these people what they need; protection and security. All I ask is that they pay what's due for these services."

"Even when you incite them? Even when you hire people to make them necessary?" I said as I looked down on the man with his wand poking me in the chest. "You're nothing more than a money grubbing pig!"

"Enough!" He shouted as I shot backward, hitting the wall. He might be a money grubbing pig, but he was one heck of a wind mage. "I will not have such baseless accusations to be said against me!"

"Baseless?" I chuckled weakly. I stood up and propped myself against the wall. Scarron looked worried for me, but the armed guards were scarring him to stay where he was. "If you really were innocent of such 'baseless' claims, you wouldn't act so rashly. Innocent men don't need violence. Hell, guilty men can at least act innocent. But you can't stand being called out, can you?"

"Shut up! I don't need to stay here and listen to such filth. Guards, take him away so I can enjoy my meal with my lovely waitress he-" as he was saying this he turned to see Louise was no longer sitting where she had. In fact, she wasn't even in the dining area. "Now where could my pretty be?"

"Far away from filth like you." I spat. "Do you even remember finishing your meal?"

"Guards, didn't I tell you to take this man away?"

"Oh, I'm a _man_ now? Until now I've been either a boy, peasant, or filth. Now you act civil. Emphasis on _act._" I huffed as two of the guards grabbed me by the arms.

"Like you haven't." Chillan huffed as he sat down. He looked forlornly into his empty glass when a thought seemed to strike him. "Say, if you made this up, then you would know what the surprise is." He said as he stopped the guards.

"And if I do?" I smirked. I was a few feet from Chillan's face, and I could see what Louise meant. At least Mott went through the motions of looking clean. This man was in desperate need of a toss in a lake.

"Then tell me what it is and I'll forgive you for your transgressions." Chillan breathed, the alcohol heavy on his breath.

"You'll forgive _me!_" I shouted as I stood straight up. The guards kept a firm grip on me, but at least I was standing instead of being half dragged. "All I have tried to do was calm an angry customer for unjustly accusing my boss. Just to have myself get into an argument, which came down to brute force and magic. Now tell me, who has transgressed?"

"Well, this was all obviously your fault." Chillan grinned stupidly, like he had won a long-standing argument. He was far from anything so.

"Actually sir," one of the guards holding me spoke up. "You almost assaulted the proprietor of the establishment for keeping a secret of the business."

"Hush you, you're only her to be my muscle." Chillan snapped, seeming to gain some of his sobriety. "Besides, there are supposed to be no secrets from me."

"But why?" One of the other customers asked. The crowd cleared and I saw the man who I had served on the first day here. "Why should we have to report every little detail of our personal lives to you? You're only supposed to collect the appropriate taxes."

"Which I do, do I not?" Chillan asked in his oily voice. I guess this is what he thought a persuasive voice was supposed to sound like. "Do I not provide my service to everyone?"

"After wringing us all dry." A woman called. "We can't even leave town to live somewhere else."

"And why would you want to? I keep the bandits away as an extra service. You won't get that anywhere else." Chillan said to the crowd, trying to appease everyone at once.

"And yet they only raid houses who didn't pay you!" Another man shouted out.

"Hey! Paying bandits isn't easy you know!" Chillan finally snapped, but then he realized what he said. "I'm sorry, that's not what I meant. Keeping them away isn't easy. You see, it takes extensive time to-"

"Save your crap for someone else Chillan." Louise said. I spotted her in the kitchen. She was back in her regular clothing with Jessica and the rest of the staff. "Everyone here just heard what you said, and you can't quell a full Inn of people. And as soon as we're done here, we're prepped to tell the rest of the town, and I don't think anyone else here will object."

"Louise! Dear, surly you don't think-" Chillan started.

"Save your disgusting sweet talk for someone else you pig!" I snapped. "Louise isn't someone for you to have."

"Oh yeah? And what say do you have to her?"

"She's my familiar, that's what!" With that announcement, I pulled out of the guards grip (which was pretty nonexistent by this point) and I pulled out my own wand and pointed it at Chillan. There were a round of gasps and Chillan paled. "On accord of Princess Henrietta, Ruler of Tristain, and upon personal request, I hereby hold you, Chillan, under arrest of extortion of the populace of Tristain and consorting with known criminals. Do you have anything to say in defense?"

"Only that you have to catch me first!" Chillan cried. It wasn't hard to catch him, seeing as two of his own guards and three zealous patrons held Chillan down before he was even done turning 180. As Chillan crashed to the ground with the five men, his wand fell out of his hand and it rolled across the floor to Louise, who picked it up.

"So when did you rally the staff?" I asked Louise as one of the guards struggled to get cuffs on Chillan as the other four held him down.

"About the time you started getting into a shouting match with Chillan." She said simply with a shrug.

"Why though, everything was going according to plan." I groaned as I sat down. The crash was still hurting, especially after the sudden flexing.

"Does the pain agree?" Louise asked promptly, smirking.

"All right, you got me. Maybe some forethought is needed." I grinned in submission. There wasn't any time for more discussion, because every patron of the Inn started to congregate on me for a job well done. Louise left with Chillan's wand and headed into the back with Scarron and the rest of the staff.

For the next hour or so, I was pestered left and right on what I had been thinking. What I had been doing in town, how I had planned on taking down Chillan, and how I had known this was all going to happen. I tried to desperately tell them that I was only doing a job for the princess, but when they finally heard me, they hounded me for answers about Princess Henrietta.

It finally got to be too much, so I risked a teleportation spell to the room. I popped up right on the floor. Lucky me, I was facing away from Louise. Although, not for long.

"Saito! Whatever you do, don't turn around!" And like an idiot, I turned around. Louise was currently on the bed with the covers up to her chin and her garb on the ground. Louise was also very pink in the face. "What did I tell you!" She shrieked.

"Sorry, sorry!" I said as I whipped back around, I could also feel my own face going a bit hot. A week with Louise in the same bed didn't mean that either of us was prepared for this situation. "W-What are you doing?" I asked hesitantly.

"W-Well, Mi Mademoiselle said that, since we took down Chillan, he said that I could have the annual prize for winning the Tip War." She said as I heard her softly get off of the bed.

"But isn't that just another dress- whoa." I said as I saw Louise standing in front of the bed. Instead of her white uniform, the dress was instead completely black with white lace. I don't know how, but it made Louise look even more beautiful than her white uniform. "I-I have nothing to say. You look stunning." Was all I could get out.

"R-Really?" Louise said sheepishly, digging one of her toes into the floorboards. "I-I think it's a bit much, but if it's that distracting, I'll-"

"Don't even." I said as I stood up. "You look gorgeous and you should feel proud of it." I said as I hugged her tightly. She didn't react, so I held her out at arms length.

She was crying. "What's wrong Louise?"

"You didn't do this before." She said quietly. "Stupid."

"Didn't do what?"

"You didn't say anything about my other one." Louise said quickly, desperately trying to look away.

"Of course I did." I said, a bit hurt.

"You said the dress was beautiful, but not me!" She said hurriedly as she buried herself in my chest. "And to think this was all over a stupid old maid outfit."

"A what?" I asked as I looked down.

"Nothing." Louise chuckled. "We really should head out tomorrow. Chillan needs to be tried." She said, quickly changing subjects

"That's tomorrow Louise." I said quietly as I sat her down. "Right now, let's enjoy right now."


	24. Back at School

**Back At School:**

I awoke the next day with Louise cuddled up next to me. She was still in the dress from yesterday, and she still looked perfect. I got out of bed, but this time I wasn't was careful apparently, because Louise started to wake up as soon as I hit the floor.

"Mm, what time is it?" She asked as she sat up.

"Uh, I'd say somewhere between eight and nine." I said as I looked out the window. "You can head back to sleep you know."

"Naw, I think I've slept enough this week." Louise said as she got up and walked over to the closet. "I think I'll help out this morning."

"Suit yourself. Be prepared to leave around noon or so, though. We do have to make sure Chillan is taken into proper custody." I said over my shoulder. After that, I just closed the door and headed downstairs. The familiar clink of dishes and soft grumbling of men waking up was still there, so I just headed into the kitchen without a second thought.

"And here comes the man of the hour." Jessica said with a grin. "How was last night with Louise?"

"It was fine." I brushed the question aside without a second thought.

"And that's all?" Jessica stared at me.

"Yeah, what would there be to tell?" I asked as I checked if there was anyone who needed to be served.

"How about at least saying it was better than 'fine'." Jessica looked aghast.

I then started to think where this conversation had gone. Then it hit me. "Ooooooohhhhh no, no no no, _nothing_ like that. We just went to bed like usual. Nothing special happened."

"Morning, anything need to be done?" Louise asked, wide-eyed and awake.

"Nothing right now Louise. Just tell us when someone comes in." Jessica said. Louise nodded and left. "_Something_ special had to happen for her to be up this early and chipper."

"I just woke her up when I got up, that's it." I stated.

"Sure it is." Jessica let it be at that, but she had a gleam in her eye that said she wasn't done on the subject.

"Hey, we got another one, says he wants two eggs and a glass of water." Louise said through the window. I grabbed one of the glasses and filled it up from the tap and handed it to Louise. When I saw the new guy, I recognized him from the first day.

His beard was still just as brown and scraggily as it had been, but his clothes looked worse for wear, considering it was at least the fourth time I had seen him in the exact same tunic and pants. He looked like one of the men who had been hit the hardest by Chillan

"Actually Louise, wait on the eggs, I want to talk to this guy." I said as I held onto the glass.

"Whatever." Louise shrugged.

I headed over to the man and set his glass down. "Here you go. And thanks for the help yesterday."

The man grabbed his glass and chugged half the glass down. "No problem. Man was as crooked as theses streets after winter." He grumbled.

"I don't even know who you are." I said.

"And why should you? I'm just a merchant looking out for his store."

"Then why have you stayed here for a week?"

"House got ransacked. I just boarded the place up tight and decided to stay here."

"Isn't that a bit expensive."

"If you had seen what Chillan had been charging for private residence, you'd get out fast too."

"Well, I'm Saito Hiraga, and it was a pleasure to know you." I said as I stuck out my hand.

"Rufford Heil." He said as he shook my hand. "Good to see there are actually people who care for others. Rare thing these days."

"Well, it's nice to see a man stand up for a stranger." I smiled. "And it seems your breakfast is here." And with that, Louise was with us with Rufford's eggs. "I'll just leave you to your meal."

"Much obliged." He grunted. Louise and I left as he started eating.

"So who was that? Someone you know?" Louise asked.

"Nope, he's just a guy I met here." I said.

…

At noon exactly, a royal guard showed up to take Chillan away to the capital. Apparently, without Chillan to regulate or pay them, the thieves cleared out without a second thought. This gave the town a time frame to get to the next town over which had the closest garrison of soldiers. It had also helped that they were already heading to town for a routine inspection.

The surprising part was that the garrison was lead by a man I recognized.

"Viscount Wardes? What are you doing here?" I asked as he came into town on a horse. We were currently outside the local prison with Chillan in cuffs. Louise and I were waiting as the four-man squad made it's way up.

"I could ask you the same thing Saito. Why are you here handing over the prisoner?" Wardes asked as he hopped down from his horse.

"Well, Princess Henrietta asked me to investigate on this man and I said yes." I explained. "But really, why are you here? Shouldn't you be heading the griffin knights? You are their captain after all."

"They can deal for a few days without me." He waved off. "Besides, I was asked by the Princess to see how an inside man was dealing with a corrupt noble, but I would have never figured for it to be Shin's little brother. Or his cute assistant." Wardes added, as he looked Louise over. She was feeling a little self-conscious since last night, so I tried to steer the conversation away.

"Well, yes, this is my familiar, Louise. But where's yours? To be a griffin knight, you need your griffin."

"He's back in the other town." Wardes waved. "He flew all day yesterday, so I'm borrowing one of the other men's horses. So I take it this is Chillan?"

"Yes, everyone in town will confirm that he has been overextending his power for personal gain and has had extended contact with the local thieves." I recapped. "And that's all I have. If you need to know anything else, Scarron and Jessica of the Fairy Mansion can fill you in. But now I think we need to head back to school. We've been here for over a week now." I said as I released Chillan to one of the other guards.

"Well hold on a second Saito." Wardes stopped us as we started to leave. "I was also said to hand this over to you." And with that, Wardes took out a letter from one of his larger pouches. "The Princess has also made another request of you it seems."

"Thanks Wardes, I'll look it over when I have the chance." I said as I took the letter and put it in my pouch that held my wand. With that exchange, we parted ways not only with the guards, but the town as well. Scarron got all teary eyed over having to see one of his fairies go, but Jessica was able to let us go. I was also able to see Rufford opening up one of the boarded up shops and take down the boards.

He saw me and waved, and I waved back. I might never see the man again, but knowing there was a man like him out there made me feel secure. What didn't make me feel secure was Louise trembling.

"What's wrong now Louise?" I asked as we were gently trotting down the road. "It doesn't have to do with your appearance again does it? I told you before-"

"It doesn't, you insensitive jerk." She snapped.

"Ow, I'm sorry, I didn't mean anything bad." I apologized. "But what's wrong, really?"

"It was that Wardes guy. He gave off a feeling I didn't like."

"Well, that's understandable, he has seen his fair share of skirmishes. He's bound to linger in a tense atmosphere."

"I hope you're right." Louise sighed. "But I didn't like the way he was looking at me. It reminded me to much of Chillan."

"I can't blame you there, I didn't like it either." I solemnly agreed. "I didn't like it either. But he was Shin's commander for the longest time, so he visited us from time to time with Shin. I trust the guy."

"But if he's a captain, and I don't have the power structure mixed up, and Shin's a general, doesn't that out rank Wardes?" Louise asked.

"Well, a lot can happen in six years." I concluded. Louise didn't pry any more and the rest of the trip was spent in silence. And by rest of the trip, I meant half an hour. It might have taken a day to ride _to_ the town, but now we were riding through familiar territory, so I took the time to experiment how far I could actually make us go with teleportation multiple times.

I had just forgotten that we were coming back to school, after a week of absence, in commoner clothes.

"There you two are!" Kirche announced from the front gates. "Did you think I wouldn't notice you were gone for a week? And what is with those clothes?" She gasped"Don't tell me you two eloped?!"

"No!" Both Louise and I shouted in unison.

"Just checking!" Kirche smiled. "I better get a run through of everything you two did while I wasn't looking!" And with that, Kirche strode off.

"Well, at least no one told her we were gone." Louise tried to comfort me.

"But it was my fault she found us like this." I sighed. "Let's just get back to the stables and teleport to the room. Before anyone else notices." Lucky for us, we did get back to the stables and back to the room with no one being the wiser.

After we changed back into our academy uniforms, I contemplated the letter Wardes gave me. I wasn't questioning that Henrietta would make another request of me, but I thought she would keep it a secret that I was running her errands. Making a highly recognizable figure like Wardes hand off the letter practically screamed that I was working for the crown. It would have looked a lot less suspicious if Shin had handed it over. At least then we could say it was from our parents or something. However hard that conversation would have been to pull off.

"Are you going to look at it all day or are you going to read it?" Louise asked from the other seat.

"I'm getting to it." I waved her off as I opened the letter. As I expected, it was a single leaf and to the point.

_Dear Saito,_

_I hope dealing with Chillan is going well. But I have something else to ask of you. Recently Lagdorian Lake has been flooding non-stop and has already submerged one town. Galia has asked that Tristain investigate if the water spirit of the lake has anything to do with it. Well, to be more precise, one of the ambassadors asked, the King of Galia plans to kill the spirit. I want to avoid such a conflict on our boarders, so I ask that you go to Lagdorian Lake to investigate._

_I have faith in you Saito,_

_Princess Henrietta_

Louise whistled. "Well, that's a pretty heavy burden. I still ask, why does Henrietta trust you so much."

"It beats me." I sighed. "But I'm sure we can wait for a day or two. We can head out after that."

"Really? This seems pretty urgent." Louise worried.

"Don't worry. It is serious, but it's slow. Unless the water spirit gets a large donation of clean water, it can only expand so much at one point. So I say we have a few days to relax from the work we just did."

"You're the boss." Louise sighed. Then both of our stomachs growled in a loud protest. "But dinner sounds nice. We did forget to eat before we left the Mansion."

"Y-Yeah." I smiled hesitantly. "Let's head down to the crowded hall that hasn't seen us for a week."

"Well, what else do you expect? We have to talk to everyone eventually." Louise said stubbornly.

"Ok, ok, dinner it is then." I sighed as I stood up.

"Well don't just stand there, let's go!" Louise said from the open door.

"How did you-? Never mind, let's go." I said as I hurried off after Louise. We both rushed to the Dinning Hall and found our usual group sitting together.

"And there they are!" Guiche called, making everyone look. "The ghostly couple! After a week of silence, they come from their quiet lair of solitude to finally announce to the world that-" I shut Guiche up by sticking a spoon full of the mashed potatoes on his plate in his mouth. But everyone was already staring at us.

"What?" Louise asked the room. "We came to get our dinner, something wrong with that?" That made everyone turn back to their own conversations as Louise and I sat down.

"That was rude." Guiche said as he pulled the spoon out of his mouth.

"And that was unnecessary." I shot back. "Honestly, we just leave for a week-"

"Together." Guiche cut in.

"And you all act like it's some kind of big deal." I finished, glaring at Guiche. "People leave all the time for _personal_ reasons. There's no need to be shocked."

"Unless you come back to confirm that you took Louise to your parents to introduce her as you wife." Montmorency said.

Louise nearly spit the water she had just drank and I was coughing on my piece of turkey. "W-What?!" We both said.

"Where would people get such a ridiculous idea like that?" I asked, bewildered that such a thing could pop up.

"Y-Yeah, Saito and I are nothing like that!" Louise added.

"Yeah, well tell that to Miss Fairy Tale over here." Montmorency said, nodding to Kirche. "She had the idea in everyone's head by day two."

"And was I so wrong?" Kirche asked innocently.

"Yes!" Everyone at the table responded, making her cringe back a bit.

"All right then, if I was so wrong, where were you two then?" Kirche asked, making everyone stop glaring at her and focus on us. The sudden turn of attention caught me off guard.

"W-Well, see, after the Mott incident, we, um,…" I stuttered.

"The Princess asked a favor of us. It required us to leave in secret and stay that way." Louise said confidently.

"Ooohh." Was the table's main reaction.

"That doesn't explain anything!" Guiche complained.

"Are you going to pry into royal matters?" Malicorne asked.

"Well, no." Guiche admitted.

"Then it explains everything." Malicorne smiled.

"But I still wanna know what you two did." Kirche said, leaning on both of her elbows. "Can't you tell us a little bit, _please?_"

"We worked undercover to find corrupt nobles." I said quickly. I hoped that would clear everything up, but it only sparked more conversations.

"So who was it?" Montmorency asked.

"How did he do it?" Kirche asked.

"Why did he do it?" Guiche asked.

"Chillan, extortion, greed. Happy? Now drop it." Louise glared. "I'm starving and I want some food."

"Let's talk about something else." I said, looking around for something different to talk about, something that had changed. And I found it in the most hypocritical way.

"Where's Tabitha?" I asked Kirche. "Did she eat already?"

"Actually, she was contacted to head back to Gallia." Kirche said, looking at the seat next to her where she usually sat. And then Kirche smiled. "But that wouldn't interest you. It is a _personal_ matter after all."

I groaned. "All right you got me on that one. But hey, let's hear about what's happened to you guys in the last week."

"Well, not much really." Guiche replied. "Without you two around, it's just been a regular time around here."

"Starting with him sweet talking every girl he passes." Montmorency jumped in. "Seriously, you should have seen him. Without you around to give him some sort of distraction, he can't spend more than five minutes without flirting."

"But Montmorency, how long have we been sitting here?" Guiche asked innocently. "By my check, it's nearly been eight minutes."

"And directly before hand, you were asking a first year for a quiche." She glared at him.

"I-I have no idea what you're talking about." Guiche looked away.

"I didn't even need to be here to know that's true." I smiled. "Face it Guiche, you've been found out. Besides, I think you needed to drop the playboy act by now."

"Saito! Those are baseless accusations and you know it." Guiche acted surprised.

I just chuckled. "Don't get start me on proving baseless accusations."

"And then there was the first day I was here." Louise added. "Saito, weren't you the one pulling me away from confronting Guiche?"

"You were in on this Saito?" Montmorency glared at me. Well, no point in hiding it.

"I found out a while ago. I just thought Guiche was boosting his own ego."

"Hey!"

"But he promised if I didn't spill the beans, he would keep his constant reminders of my failures down."

"Well, I do admit, we were getting a bit mean by the end of last year." Malicorne admitted.

"Yeah, but you guys have gotten better. Much more subdued poking instead of out right shame." I smiled weakly.

"We're getting off topic here!" Montmorency complained.

"Honestly Montmorency, it's your choice." I said. "If you can't stand it, straighten him up or dump him. Simple as that."

"I mean, look at Kirche." Louise said. "She seems to juggle five men at a time fairly well because they accept each other."

"Actually, I think it's because she keeps them apart so easily."

"Except for the time we visited." Louise smiled.

"I had an off day." Kirche shrugged. "But they got over it fairly quickly."

"Well, this revelation is severely questioning why I am dating you Guiche." Montmorency glared.

"If you want me to stop, I'll stop, I swear." Guiche said, raising his right hand.

"And I'll make sure you keep to that promise." Montmorency grumbled.


	25. Losing Louise?

**Losing Louise?:**

After the squabble at dinner, I didn't feel like sticking around to see what Guiche was going to have to deal with. In all honesty, Montmorency was taking all of this quite well. If it weren't for the fact that she seemed dead set on the man, I think she could find better. I also kind of found it funny that Guiche got found out as soon as I wasn't keeping an eye on him.

"And what are you smiling for? Two of our friends might not be that way by morning." Louise berated me as we looked over some of her fire studies. "I can't even focus on any of this." She grumbled.

"Don't worry about it. Montmorency might be mad, but she's reasonable. I'm sure she'll come up with some ultimatum for Guiche." I said as I leaned back. "Probably that she'll start hitting on other guy."

"How is that an ultimatum?"

"Well, Guiche is a possessive man. This has its good and bad points, but when he has something he likes, he goes to great lengths to keep them."

"And Montmorency counts?" Louise asked, an angry glint in her eyes.

"Fortunately, yes." I said carefully. "Montmorency knows this and will use it against Guiche."

"Uh huh." Louise said, unconvinced. "You know, for however long I've known the two, I've never really seen them as a couple."

"Well of course…they…are." I said slowly, thinking for a bit. I always knew the two to be practically glued to the hips, and I did see sparks of affection, but nothing more than that. "Huh, I haven't either, really. Actually makes me think of the history between the two."

"You mean you haven't known them forever?" Louise questioned, leaning in closer.

"Not really, I met everyone last year when I joined the academy. Until then, I didn't really know all that many people my age. Some of the servant kids were always around, but they were either afraid to interact with me, or were already working." I sighed as I reminisced.

"Must have been lonely." Louise said sadly.

"Naw, not really. Katra and Henrietta both made the days interesting and Shin and Father gave me things to do whenever I had nothing better to do. My days were filled, just not with friends. Coming here has actually made me happy to know there's more to life than work and study." I smiled. "Guiche's problem for instance."

"Yeah, Guiche's problems." Louise said as she backed away. "There really is more than one."

"I say he just get beat to a pulp until the miss is satisfied." Derf spoke up from his spot in the corner. "He'll think twice after that."

"He probably won't though." I sighed. "His skull's just about as thick as the rocks he manipulates." This got a chuckle out of Louise. I smiled in return, but it was getting late and we had school in the morning. "Well, I hope this is good enough." I said as I stood. "Because I'm going to bed."

I went over to the wardrobe and grabbed the cot from beside it as I undid my cape. I heard Louise get up as well. I undressed myself and put on my nightclothes.

I laid out the cot and grabbed the blanket and pillow I have been using since this arrangement started. I lay on my side away from Louise until she finally got onto the bed. I reached to turn off the lamp when I herd Louise clear her throat.

"What is it Louise?"

"Um, it's just that, I kind of got used to you in the bed back at the Mansion, and now the bed feels to big for myself." She said. I turned to look at her, and she was looking down as she was pressing her two index fingers together.

"And? I thought you liked the space."

"Well, it does get cold at night." She muttered.

"It's almost summer." I pointed out.

"Summer nights can get cold too you know." She snapped at me. She immediately reverted back to her shy self and wasn't saying anything else.

"Well, that was pointless." I sighed as I turned to turn the lamp off.

"You bloody idiot, she wants you in the bed." Derf spoke out. "Stop being daft."

"What?" I said as I looked at the sword.

"You heard me. My partner is just being to shy to admit it." Derf argued.

"I am not." Louise shot. "I-I was just wondering if there was anyway to have something to fill the space."

"And the only thing I see here is this guy here, Partner." Derf turned to Louise. For being a sword, he sure did have some mobility. "Unless you just want a pile of clothes lying there."

"Well, not really." Louise admitted.

I sighed. "Look, it's getting later the longer this goes on, so I'll take the bed."

"What?" Louise looked shocked.

"If it will make you feel better, I'll see if I can find you a doll or something. Until then, I don't see why not, the bed is considerably bigger than the one at the Mansion." I said as I turned off the lamp finally. I got on the bed and Louise scooted away to the opposite side.

"You won't do anything, right?"

"Louise, we just did this for the last week in a smaller bed, do you _honestly_ think I would do anything _now_?" I looked at her. The moons gave more than enough light for us to see each other in the dim room. "Or do you still not trust me at all?"

"Fine, you win, just make sure you stay to your side." Louise huffed as she got under the covers.

"Only if you stay on yours." I grumbled as I got under the covers as well.

"What was that?" Louise asked.

"I said goodnight." I said audibly.

"Night then Saito." Louise said as she sighed. Honestly, if she didn't like sleeping alone in the first place, she should have said so sooner. I could have had her a doll sooner.

…

To none of my surprise, Louise hadn't kept to her side of the bed. As I woke up, I found her cuddled up to my left side, and didn't feel like she was going to move any time soon.

"Derf, when did this happen?" I whispered over my shoulder.

"Sorry, I was asleep. I can't tell you." Derf said.

"Cut that crap, you're a sword, you don't need to sleep." I hissed, which only made Louise cringe and cuddle closer to me. "Oh whatever, what are the chance that I get out of this in one piece?"

"Slim to none, seeing as the maid's here." Derf said. As he did, I looked to the door to see Siesta standing there, door open, with an empty basket. I had completely forgotten to lock the door, I had gotten so used to doing it as I entered our room in the Fairy Mansion that I had forgotten to do it here. Here, I was dreading the scenario's Siesta was coming up with.

She came in, swapped the baskets, and left, closing the door. I had no idea if this was a good or a bad thing, but I knew this wasn't going to be a secret. Siesta might be a good person, but she did have the habit of spilling secrets easily.

"Well that's just great." I groaned as I kneaded my eyes with my left hand.

"What's just great?" Louise said sleepily as she looked up at me. She just looked so adorable that I forgot why I was complaining. And then I remembered where Louise was looking at me from. And apparently she noticed as well.

"Ah!" She screamed as she quickly let go of me and crawled away. "W-What d-did you do last night." She said, pointing an accusing finger.

"Me?" I asked as I sat up. "I just went to sleep. Somewhere along the way, you crawled up to me."

"I would never do that!" Louise pouted.

"Oh yeah? How many times over the last week did you think I had to escape you without noticing?"

"You didn't."

"Oh yes I did. In fact, I failed once and you woke up as soon as I was out of bed."

"Because you were moving around so much."

"To get away from you!"

"Well fine! Stay away from me then! You don't have to be anywhere near me, if _that's_ what you want so desperately." She yelled as she got out of bed. "You don't have to see me all day. I'll just ask Tabitha or Kirche if they want to hang out." She said huffily as she started to get clothed, which I quickly turned away from. "See you tonight then. Oh, and take the cot." Louise said as she opened and slammed the door as she left for breakfast.

I just looked after her, thinking what was wrong with her. This was all her fault anyways, wanting me to sleep with her and getting all hyped up when she was all over me! All I wanted to do was make her comfortable while she was here and she just goes and double sides every thing she says. She didn't have to stay here forever, as soon as I found a way back to her home, she could easily-

Go home. It hit me again. She felt so natural here now; I hadn't questioned where she came from anymore. Tabitha and Kirche were from different countries, Louise felt exactly the same. But how long has she been here now? A month? Two? She had her own family, probably worrying where she's gone, and more than possibly her own boyfriend.

I shook that last thought out. She was here, and I planned to make her feel welcome, but now what was I doing? Driving her away from the man you kidnapped her here? In fact, I didn't even know how Louise felt about being here anymore. She liked the school, she liked the people, but what did she miss? Does she miss her old life? Does she miss her home? Her family?

I was just sitting on the bed, thinking this all through. Just thinking about Louise, where she taken from, and what would I do if she were gone. There I sat, so long so that the first bell for class rang to signal breakfast was over. I didn't care though; I had better things to think over than studies I would just fail.

I finally got up and got dressed. I secured my sword to my hip in my regular fashion and was about to leave, when I realized Derf was still in his corner. I guess if I were to think all day, I might as well have something to bounce ideas off of. I picked Derf up and left the room.

As I descended to the courtyard, I thought about how the familiar summoning actually works, and how my teleportation worked. The summoning spell used the castors words as a guideline to pick your familiar from all of the beings of the planet; it was a very big spell that needs at least a year to prep all of the proper ingredients. As I thought, it was actually one of the last spells widely used that used ingredients anymore.

And then there was my own teleportation. Out of all the places I have visited, it seemed that I could go anywhere. But my spell seemed to work in the exact opposite way the summoning spell does. It can _go_ just fine,but _retracing_ was difficult. I have theorized that it's because I used myself as a focal point of the spell that going was easier than coming.

But what if I could utilize parts of both spells? If I could make the summoning spell as simple as my teleportation, but still keep it's wide focus, I could possibly find Louise's home. The other part of this problem was did I really want to see Louise go?

I don't know how, but I couldn't imagine my life without her around now. Sure, she could be annoying, irrational, and down right infuriating, but she was my Louise, my familiar. At sat down at one of the tables in the field and sighed. Why did it have to be this hard? Why did I have to both like and hate her? Why couldn't be a simple stay or go question?

"You know, I've been meaning to ask this, but what's up?" Derf asked. "It's not like you to just sit around and mope."

"And what would you know? You're always with Louise, not me."

"And she's always with…?"

"Me." I sighed. "Fine, if you really want to know, I've been kicking around the idea of sending Louise home."

"Isn't she already?"

"This is where she lives. But what about where I took her from? What about her life before this? It's not like she's always existed just for me."

"But isn't that exactly what a familiar is?" Derf questioned. "Let me tell you, when you're bound to someone, you're bound, no ifs, ands, or buts. I should know, I've had the same job since forever. And I exist only for the purposes of the Gandalfr."

"But what about the other people she knew, like her family? Surly they miss her." I argued.

"Well sure they do, but have you taken into account my partner's feelings? What does she think? Does she want to go home?"

"I'm sure she does."

"But did she tell you she wants to go home?"

"…No." I finally admitted.

"Then there's nothing to worry about. If Louise says she wants to go home, that's when you find her a way home." Derf consoled me. "But until then, you're just worrying over nothing."

"Well, after this morning, I'm sure she's going to start asking to." I smiled grimly.

"After what happened this morning?" Siesta asked. I jerked up to see Siesta walking by with an empty basket in hand, presumably just to go fill it. I remembered what she saw and did this morning and deepened the stinging pain.

"Louise is mad at me right now for some stupid misinterpretations." I said meekly. "I told her that I was trying to keep away from her in the bed, and she took it as though I wanted to stay away from her all the time."

"Well it didn't look that way when I stopped by." Siesta said, confused.

"That's because you just have impeccably bad timing." I chuckled.

"Then mind sharing why you were in her bed in the first place?" Siesta asked as she sat down. "I'm sure that's where your first mistake started."

"It wasn't _my_ mistake." I grumbled. "Louise had just gotten used to the smaller beds from the place we were staying, and the school bed felt to big. So Louise asked me to take up some of the space."

"A likely story." Siesta said with a small glare.

"Hey, I'm pouring my heart out here!" I complained.

"I'm sorry. Please, continue." Siesta waved.

"Well, by morning, I found myself in the situation you saw, and I was trying to find a way out of it."

"You woke up like that? Louise looked a bit close for you not to notice."

"I'm a heavy sleeper, so sue me." I said, exasperated. "Anyways, when Louise woke up like that, she blamed me for ending up like that. And then you can figure out the rest. Right now, Louise doesn't want to talk to me or see me."

"Well, that is a bit harsh, even like that." Siesta said, thinking. "But not seeing you at all? You do share the same room."

"Well, I think that we both share the same trait of not quite thinking through what we're saying." I chuckled. "We will still see each other at meals." And with the mention of food, my stomach growled in loud retaliation. Siesta looked a bit shocked.

"What happened? Have you not eaten for the past day?"

"Well, this morning's fight made me think a bit. I must have missed breakfast." I said as I scratched my head.

"What do you usually eat for breakfast? A whole pig?" Siesta questioned. "Come on, I'll ask Chef to make something quick." She sighed as she stood to go.

"Uh, Siesta? I'm in my school uniform right now. I thought Chef had a thing against students." I pointed out.

"Well, he's already met you, so I'm sure it'll be fine." Siesta said, but she was hesitating now. "I'm sure it'll be fine."

My stomach growled again. "I think I'll just have to risk it." I sighed as I stood, slinging Derf over my shoulder.

"Isn't Derf supposed to be with Louise?" Siesta asked as we moved toward the kitchens.

"Well, there are a few habits we gained over the week that we need to break. One of hers is carrying Derf again, and one of mine is locking the door." I smiled meekly.

"I'm sorry, I really should have knocked. It's just that other students just leave it open with the basket next to the door, and you were gone for the week, and I saw you in such a situation, and I thought-"

"Whoa, whoa, Siesta, slow down. It's over now; you don't need to dwell on it." I said as I patted her on the shoulder. "And I don't think we'll have a good impression on Chef if I'm making you worry when we show up."

"Y-You're right. Sorry, I just tend to worry." Siesta apologized.

"And that's ok, just stop when people say it's ok to, ok?"

"Sure." Siesta smiled. We got to the kitchen and found that Chef wasn't the only one in the kitchens.

"Louise?" Siesta and I asked at the same time. She looked up from the table we had eaten from last time and smiled in relief.

"You have no idea how glad I am to see you two."

"Even me?" I asked.

"We can get to that point later." Louise waved aside. "Right now, I have a problem."

"And what's that?" Siesta asked.

"Looouuiiisse! Where are you my honey bunch?" I heard Guiche call out. I just looked at Louise.

"That's my problem." She groaned.


	26. Curing Lovesickness

**Curing Lovesickness:**

"Would you mind explaining?" I asked.

"I have nothing." Louise sighed. "I have no idea why he's like that."

"Could you tell us what happened?" Siesta said as we sat down with her.

"Well, I just got done with my fire practicality studies, so I went for a walk outside. When I saw Guiche and Montmorency talking, I assumed they were having a personal conversation so I just kept walking. But then Guiche called me his…his…" Louise was gripping her skirt tightly. "His honey bunch." She grumbled.

"Well that doesn't explain anything." I sighed.

"But that's not the worst part!" Louise shot back up. "After he called me that, he ran up to me and nearly kissed me!"

"What!" Siesta and I reacted.

"Siesta? What are you doing here?" I heard Chef call. "Aren't you supposed to… who are these two?" Chef had just come into the room and saw the three of us.

"Chef, this is Saito and Louise. You remember? Last week?" Siesta turned her attention to Chef. He seemed to recognize us, but Siesta went on before he could speak. "Well, Louise seems to be having a problem and I thought we could get her something to calm her down."

"Sure, sure, hold on for a minute." Chef said as he turned around.

"So what happened Louise?" I asked as Chef left.

"Well, he didn't actually kiss me. Montmorency hit Guiche, so he let me go and I ran here." Louise finished. "I figured this to be the only place that I knew that Guiche wouldn't look."

"Loooouuuuiiisse!" I heard Guiche call, closer this time.

"I think he's onto you though." I said as I looked for a solution, or the problem. "Hold on, I'll go see if I can throw him off. Stay here." I got up to leave the kitchen, but my stomach protested. Chef must have heard, because I saw a sandwich being shoved in my face not two second later.

"Here, have this for now." Chef said as I accepted the sandwich. "You better be explaining this later."

"Don't worry, I will Chef. Thanks for the food." I waved as I left, taking a bite.

I saw Chef sigh, but I was gone before any explanations could be given. I had to find Guiche. Not that it was hard; he was calling for Louise at the top of his lungs. If I were him, I would be dying of embarrassment right about now.

"Louise!" I saw Guiche calling from where I had just been. "Come out, come out, wherever you are!"

"Hey Guiche!" I waved him down. He looked at me, but promptly ignored me. "Why are you looking for Louise?"

That got his attention. "The question is not 'why', but 'why not'." Guiche said as he turned to me. "I don't know how I haven't noticed until now, but your familiar is the most beautiful goddess I have ever seen."

"Uh huh, and when did you come across this revelation?" I asked skeptically as I approached him. Guiche had his regular look of love-struckness, but this seemed a bit too distant to be his usual playboy self.

"It was while I was having tea with Montmorency." He sighed heavily in remembrance. Ok, maybe this defiantly his usual self at all, Guiche didn't faun. "When her frog knocked over her cup, I drank mine so that Robin wouldn't knock it over. And when I lowered my cup, there she was." Guiche sighed again.

"Montmorency?" I asked hopefully in spite of myself.

"No, Louise." He corrected me. "Her hair, oh her hair, was waving oh so softly in the air, I didn't know how I couldn't have seen it before. I had to let her know my feelings immediately."

"So what did you do?" I asked hesitantly.

"Why, I leapt from my seat and dashed straight to her. We embraced and nearly had a romantic kiss right there."

"Nearly?"

"Yes, nearly." Guiche sighed yet again, this time in disappointment. "Some unknown force knocked me down, and when I came back to my senses, Louise had been taken. I have been calling for her since." Then Guiche seemed to have an idea. "Saito, you're her master, surely you know where she is, right?"

"Um, no, not really." I lied. "Last I knew she had fire practicality studies. Maybe Professor Colbert will know where she had gone."

"That's perfect! Thank you Saito, I'll be off now." Guiche waved as he went on his wild goose chase.

I, in the meantime, had a certain blond to confront. I searched the grounds for a bit until I found Montmorency sitting at a table near the wall. As I walked over, I heard her talking to herself.

"Robin, you were supposed to knock the cup towards _Guiche_, not _me_. The tea was still hot, and now you've stained my skirt. …Oh don't give me that excuse, of course you can tell where you're jumping. … Don't blame me! The love potion should have worked perfectly; you just made me duck when he drank it. … What do you mean I should've had _my_ back to the wall? Guiche offered me the seat, I couldn't just-"

"So it is a love potion." I said from behind her. Montmorency jumped and slowly turned towards me.

"What are you talking about Saito? You know love potions are against the law, I would never use one." She said hesitantly.

"Then would like to give another explanation as to why Guiche is currently infatuated with Louise?" I glared at her.

"Well, he _is_ a skirt chaser." Montmorency huffed.

"Not to the point where he'll actually _chase_ them. Trust me, I know." I said as I took the seat across from her. "Why did you do it?"

"Do what?"

"Use a love potion."

"I told you, I didn't use a love potion!"

"So if I drink the rest of this cup, I'll be fine?" I said as I took up the cup in front of me.

"NO!" Montmorency screamed as she grabbed my arm. When she lowered my arm, she saw that the cup was empty.

"Got ya." I said as I placed the cup down. "Now tell me, why."

"I…I…I just didn't know what else to do!" She finally said. "We argued all last night over the point of his skirt chasing. He said he wouldn't give it up, something along the lines of 'the world of women needed him'." She waved in distaste. "So I thought if I couldn't convince him to give it up that I would make him only notice me."

"But you know love potions are illegal." I pointed out.

"But he left me no choice!" She said exasperated. "He notices any girl with a cute enough face. I had to do something to tip the balances."

"So you chose this time of day when no one was around so that Guiche would be imprinted on you?"

"Yes." Montmorency looked down. "Louise was just an accident."

"Why are you even that persistent to have Guiche anyways?" I asked, leaning back.

"Why?" Montmorency looked up.

"Yeah, why? I'm sure there are plenty of other guys around the school who you could date. Or even outside the school. So why are you so fixated on Guiche?"

"That's kind of a personal question." Montmorency blushed.

"Well, if you want my help to keep this quiet, that's the least I want to know."

"I never asked for your help." Montmorency shot.

"Are you sure you can cure Guiche and keep this all under wraps by yourself?"

"Well sure I…no." Montmorency admitted.

"And seeing as I already know, I can and will help. All I want to know is why you're so dead set on Guiche." I concluded.

"Fine." Montmorency sighed. "I like Guiche because he…"

"He what?"

"He…"

"Come on Montmorency, you have to speak up." I prompted.

"Because he said he loved me, okay!" Montmorency finally shouted, quickly covering her own mouth. I was shocked from both the confession and the volume. But then I went back to being sensible.

"That's it? Guiche says that to nearly every girl he talks to."

"No he doesn't!" Montmorency snapped at me. I shut up and let her talk. "It was a year or two before we came to the academy. Our fathers were meeting each other again and Guiche had come with his father for some basic strategy studies or something. We were able to spend some time together, and that's Guiche told me."

"Don't you think that might have just been him trying to woo you?" I asked hesitantly.

"Maybe, if it hadn't been for how long we've known each other. Not in the eight years had I known Guiche had he ever made that sort of advance. So, after a while, I realized I loved him too." Montmorency finished.

"But what about now? He's been chatting up every girl he sees."

"But that's just him pining for attention. He feels overshadowed by his two older brothers." Montmorency defended.

"Well, I feel overshadowed by my siblings and I don't do what Guiche is doing."

"Oh, right." Montmorency considered me for a minute. "But, it's what I said, he flirts, but he doesn't actually take it anywhere."

I just sighed. There was no point in trying to persuade her off of Guiche, so there was only to help her undo what she did. "All right, you paid what I asked, so now I'll help you fix this."

"Really?"

"Well, yeah. This is a bother for not only you, but I'm pretty sure Guiche will remember all of this. The less he has to feel embarrassed about, the better. Plus, Louise isn't liking the attention either."

"Well, when you put it that way." Montmorency muttered. "Ok then. I think I might know of a way to reverse the potion."

"That quick?"

"Well, I had thought of this as a backup plan, just in case I couldn't take Guiche fawning all over me."

"Very trusting of you." I smirked.

"You should always have a backup plan, Guiche taught me that."

"Guiche did?" I asked in amazement. I may have been bad in magic, but I felt Guiche was worse then me when it came to common sense.

"He did. Now, we just need to head for Lagdorian Lake." Montmorency said as she stood, her frog hopping into her hands. "I'll meet with you in an hour at the gate. Get Louise and be prepared for an overnight ride. It'll take about half a day or so to get there."

"Ok then, see you in an hour then." I waved as I headed back down to the kitchen. Something was nagging me about the lake Montmorency had mentioned, like it was important, but I just couldn't tell where it was important from.

When I got back to the kitchen, I found Louise, Siesta, and Chef all sitting around the table chatting. Chef noticed me first, which prompted the other two to look as well. I didn't say anything until I got down to the table.

"All right, the deal is that Guiche was hit with an infatuation charm gone wrong. Montmorency was looking to gain an edge over the other girls and she miscalculated." I said straight off.

"You know how unlikely that is?" Louise asked.

"Just that much, which is why it was such a shock to Montmorency."

"Uh, can you hold up for a second?" Chef stalled us. "Why are you two wearing student uniforms?"

Apparently, Siesta and Louise had been so busy trying to straighten out who Louise and I were that they didn't explain why. For the next ten minutes I filled Chef in on how I had summoned Louise and that we had been in commoner clothes for a special mission. Chef was surprisingly understanding about it all.

"So you _did_ get rid of the noble, right?"

"Yes, yes we did." I confirmed.

"Well, that's all I needed to know!" He laughed as he slapped me on the back. "You didn't need to pull some elaborate scheme. Like I said, any friend of Siesta's is a friend of mine, noble or commoner."

"Well, that's nice to hear." I coughed from the sudden impact. "But right now, we have to get ready to go. Montmorency thinks she has a solution and we need to be gone in …fifty minutes now."

"Where are we going now?" Louise sighed as she stood up.

"She said we're going to Lagdorian Lake." I said as I walked by.

"Isn't that where the Princess asked us to go?" Louise asked as she picked up Derf.

"Argh, that's where I remember that name from! This is just perfect then, two birds, one stone." I smiled. "Well, see you later Chef, Siesta."

"Take care." Chef waved.

"I'll see you two around then." Siesta smiled.

As we left the kitchens, I made sure that Guiche wasn't around before we made a move for the dorm room. We didn't speak for the entire trip to and from the room. I didn't speak because I didn't want to spark an argument that would just lead Guiche right to us. Louise probably stayed quiet because she was still angry. If my sister ever taught me anything, girls remember, they remember everything.

As it came time to meet with Montmorency, Louis and I were waiting outside the main gate. To my surprise, Kirche wasn't charging us demanding to know where we were going. Thankfully we only had to wait a minute or two before Montmorency came up on her own horse.

"Well, it's nice to see you two here early." She sighed. "We might as well get on our way then before we come to any complications."

"Louise my dear, there you are!" Guiche shouted.

"I think you spoke to soon Montmorency." I groaned.

"Well don't just sit there, come on!" Montmorency shouted as she whipped her horse's reins and set off into a gallop. I did the same, but before we went far, Guiche's unique bronze Valkyries blocked the road.

"Where do you think you're going with my love Saito?" Guiche demanded as he marched down the road. The little display was starting to gain attention, and that was the last thing Montmorency needed.

"Montmorency, which way are we going?" I asked, starting to form a plan.

"West generally, why?"

"I ask again, where are you taking Louise?" Guiche demanded again, his Valkyries now pointing their spears at us.

"I'm taking her far away from a skirt chaser like you, that's what I'm doing!" I shouted back. The sudden declaration made Guiche stop his approach.

"I'm a what now?"

"You heard me you lecher!"

"Saito! What do you think you're doing?" Montmorency hissed at me.

"I am no such man! I only have the purist intentions!" Guiche shot at me.

"Oh yeah?" I questioned. "And what sort of 'pure' intentions do you have for my familiar?"

"Hey! I thought we agreed-"

"Not now Louise." I hissed. I turned my attention back to Guiche. "If you want my familiar that much, meet us at Lagdorian Lake by tomorrow night, or you will never see Louise again!"

"Not if I stop you here you won't!" Guiche shouted as he whipped out his rose and summoned a sword from the ground. He grabbed the hilt of the sword and charged the horses.

But just as he had pulled out his rose, I pulled out my wand and activated the largest teleportation spell I had tried thus far.


	27. Watery Dealings

**Watery Dealings:**

When the rush of the teleport wore off, I promptly fell off the horse. Both for the lack of grip on the reigns and with the help of Louise's elbow to my stomach.

"What was that f-for?!" She yelled at me. "I thought we agreed you wouldn't call me _your_ familiar! It's degrading."

"Um, before you two get to far into this argument, where are we exactly?" Montmorency cut in. This made Louise pause and look around.

"We're about half way to Mott Manor." I huffed as I got to my feet. "From here, we should be able to take the fork in the road west instead of north."

"And why did you do that exactly?" Montmorency asked.

"Well, Guiche was making an ass of himself, so I thought I would give him a reason to." I reasoned.

"By making it a kidnapping scenario?" Louise glared at me.

"It was the first thing that came to mind." I shrugged.

"And you didn't think of what would happen to us when we get back?"

"Uh, no." I admitted.

"What have I said about making a backup plan?" Louise sighed in frustration.

"So she's the one giving _you_ advice?" Montmorency looked down at me with a knowing grin.

"Oh, ha ha, I got us out didn't I? Now, we better get moving before lover boy shows up." I huffed as I got myself back up on the horse. I started to notice that the height wasn't doing me any good. "Uh, Louise? Do you think you could take the reigns for a while?"

"Why?"

"Because I don't think I'll be conscious for much longer." I said as I started to feel myself fall off the horse again.

…

I don't know how long I was out, but the time I came around, I was on a horse at sunset. The person I was riding with apparently knew I was waking up, because the horse slowly came to a halt.

"How was your nap sleeping beauty?" I heard Louise say from my right. But wait, if Louise is to my right, that would mean…

"It's about time you got up. Get back to your own horse." Montmorency said from behind me.

"I would, but you're keeping me here." I grumbled.

"Fine." Montmorency huffed as I felt her leave. I sighed that I had to get up, but I did so anyways. I got to my feet hesitantly, and had to hold onto Montmorency's horse for dear life, but I got off. "Now can you get on your own horse?" Montmorency asked.

"I really don't know." I sighed. "I think I overdid the teleport spell."

"You think? I was afraid you had killed yourself." Montmorency huffed.

"You can do that?" Louise asked. "You just told me he was exhausted."

"Well, I guess she was telling the truth. Mages fall unconscious if they use too much magic at once when their not used to it." I explained to Louise. Montmorency probably didn't want to worry Louise to much while I was out. "So, how long have I been out?"

"Nearly the entire trip. I had to carry you because Louise couldn't see where she was going and keep you on the horse at the same time." Montmorency explained. "Now, your horse?"

"Yeah, yeah, give me a second." I huffed as I walked over to Louise. "So, how was riding on your own?"

"It wasn't so hard." Louise shrugged. "All that was different was having to direct, everything else I had already done."

"Good. Good. Now, mind giving me a hand up?"

"I guess." Louise sighed. With her help, I was able to swing myself up and wrap my arms around Louise to grab the reigns. "Uh, actually Saito, would you mind if I took it for the rest of the way there? We're almost to the lake already."

"Sure, go ahead." I said as I withdrew my arms, although I felt an immediate problem. "So, where can I hold onto for balance? I'd rather not have to sit straight up on horseback with no support."

"Just wrap your arms around my waist then." Louise said shortly.

"Are you sure?"

"Just hurry up, Montmorency is already ahead of us."

"Fine then." I sighed. I slipped arms under Louise's and gripped them together, getting a short squeal from Louise.

"What do you think you're doing? That's to tight." She looked back at me.

"Sorry, sorry." I said as I loosened my grip.

"Arg, never mind, hold on for a sec, we need to catch up." And with that, Louise whipped the reigns and galloped the short bit up to Montmorency, who seemed to be waiting.

"What was taking you so long?"

"Just getting situated." Louise and I said in unison. I didn't even bother to look to Louise to see how she reacted.

"Uh huh," Montmorency grinned. "Anyways, I think we begin to see the lake from here."

"You think?" I looked down the hill to see the shore of the lake as far as I could see. "I think you might have had the distance a bit mixed up Montmorency."

"I could have sworn it would take us another hour to get there." Montmorency mused.

"Well, this is no surprise, the Princess already said the lake was flooding for a while now. I see no reason why it wouldn't get here already." Louise said.

"Really?" Montmorency looked worried. "How long ago did the Princess say this."

"Uh…" I had no idea how long it had been between the Princess handing off the letter and Wards getting it to me.

"That long huh." Montmorency looked down to the lake. "This is bad then. She might be to distracted to help."

"Who are we seeing anyways?" I asked. "You said you had a plan, but you just told me to follow. So how are we going to fix this mistake of ours?"

"My family has a sort of contract with a water spirit of the lake. My family line has rarely ever been strong in some other magic besides water, so my great-grandfather set a pact with the spirit. If we were to ever have a problem in relation to magic, she would help us in exchange for a favor."

"Well if you have that kind of contract, I don't think there will be that much difficulty knowing what the return favor will be." Louise said.

"Why do you say that?" I asked.

"Well, if the spirit is angry, then a return favor will obviously be to stop whatever is pissing it off." Louise reasoned.

"That's if she stops being angry enough to listen to my request." Montmorency sighed. "Well, we might as well get this over with." With that, Montmorency whipped her horse and galloped toward the water's edge.

"Hold on." Louise called as she whipped the reigns. It was if I had a choice in the matter.

A matter of minutes later, we had tied our horses to a nearby tree and were standing on the impromptu bank.

"Well?" Louise asked. "How are we going to contact the spirit?"

"Hold on a second." Montmorency snapped. "It's been a while. Now what was it again? 'A drop of proof is all that is needed, just be sure it's properly preceded.'? Argh, why did he have to make this so difficult to remember?"

"Well, it is a family contract, maybe you have to use something that proves your of the family?" I suggested.

"Like what?" Louise scoffed. "A lock of hair? A drop of blood?"

"That's it!" Montmorency exclaimed. "All I need to do is… Robin? Where did you run off to?" Montmorency looked around. "She never listens."

"Tell me about it." I mumbled. A short elbow from Louise soon followed.

"There you are." Montmorency sighed as she knelt down to the ground. "Now Robin, I need you to take this into the lake and find the water spirit. …I know it's a big lake, just trust me on this, she'll be easy enough to find. …Don't give me that kind of tongue, just do it, please? …Thank you." And with that, I saw a small ripple form and Montmorency stood up. "That should do it." She sighed. "Now all we have to do is wait."

"And what do we do while we wait for an angry water spirit, huh?" Louise asked. "Do we have to give an offering or something first?"

"Oh no, that's all been taken care of already." Montmorency waved off. "This is just an activation of contract."

"What did her great-grandfather have to offer up?" Louise whispered to me.

"I have no idea, but to have this kind of long sanding contract, I'd rather not think about it."

"Oh." Was all Louise could say before turning a light shade of green. But before I could consolidate her, there was a huge rise of water from the lake. As I looked up, I saw a giant Montmorency. Made completely out of water, minus the clothes. Louise's hand suddenly flew up to my eyes. I had a mixed reaction of relief and disappointment.

"Thank you Louise." I heard Montmorency say.

"The blood has been confirmed, as does the contract still stand. Name your problem, Child of Montmorency, and I shall deem if I may be of help." I heard an ethereal, feminine voice speak. It sounded strangely similar to Montmorency, yet off somehow.

"Oh Spirit of Lagdorian Lake, I come to seek aid in counteracting a potion. The effects have altered the affected's mind to attach themselves to my friend here. I was lead to believe that you may help in this sort of situation."

"Perhaps, but do you understand the terms at which this help costs?"

"I believe I do. I must in turn return you a favor."

"All for the better." The Spirit's voice sighed. "I shall help, on the account that you rid me of my pursuers."

"Spirit?"

"For the last day, there has been a mage pursuing my core. She has done well in tracking me, and has nearly destroyed me thrice now. If you can stop this pursuer, I shall help in this endeavor of yours."

"Thank you Spirit." Montmorency said. And as she did, I heard a loud splash, and Louise removed her hand from my eyes.

"Was that really necessary Louise?"

"Well you weren't going to stop yourself." She huffed. Louise then turned her attention to Montmorency. "So, how are we going to find this hunter? If she can find the core of a water spirit in a lake as big as this, what chance are we going to have of stopping her?"

"I'm sure we'll think of something." Montmorency sighed. "If we don't we'll never be able to set Guiche straight."

"Did I hear my name be called?!" I heard the familiar voice call from behind me. I turned to see Guiche on white horseback at the crest of the hill.

"You have got to be kidding me." I groaned. "I teleport us halfway here, and he still shows up before night. How can he do that?"

"By the power of love you cur!" Guiche called as he came charging down the hill. All I could do was hold my head in my hands. I heard the horse stop before me and the sound of Guiche hitting the ground. "Now face me!"

I just looked up to see the most serious face I had ever seen Guiche wear. "Honestly, out of all the times you _had_ to be serious, it had to be _now_?"

"Ah, but that was of a time before I found my true love. Now, fight me!"

"No." I just glared at him.

"What do you mean no? Draw your sword, draw your wand, which ever it may be, I shall best you!"

"I mean no. I'm not fighting you over something this silly, not when I have a real mission to carry out."

"And what may that be? If it is a plot to harm Louise, I shall have none of it!"

An idea struck me. If he were this devoted to Louise, he might just do anything.

"You see Guiche, the reason why I lured you here was to cure Louise."

"What?" Louise, Montmorency, and Guiche said in unison. Robin may have even counted, if you counted the croak.

"You see Guiche," I said as I laid my arm over his shoulder, "I knew you would never let Louise out of your sight. But she has a fatal, incurable sickness, that none but the spirit of this lake could cure. But knowing your thick headedness, you would keep Louise locked away, withering, while you searched for a cure yourself. So I orchestrated it so that you would follow us here. Now, all that is needed to be done, is for you to fight an evil mage, and the cure is ours."

"And then I can be with Louise, no further complications?" Guiche asked.

"None at all." I shook my head in emphasis.

"Then what are you three standing around here for?" Guiche asked as he threw my arm off. "We have a mage to vanquish!"

I smiled as he began to formulate a plan by drawing in the dirt and consulting with Montmorency. As he did, Louise made her way to my side.

"What was all that junk about?" She hissed.

"Look, I didn't want to fight Guiche, and it's going to make it a bit easier with four against one. And thanks to the love potion, if it's for you, he'll do anything."

"Do you think he'll jump in the lake if I told him to?" Louise asked, an evil glint in her eye.

"Louise, you wouldn't." I complained.

"Well, I'm seriously thinking about it. He's making my life harder than it already is. I just want this all to be over with and head back home."

That last line dumbstruck me enough, that I didn't even realize that I had been tackled until after Louise was already over me and an ice spike was where I had been standing.


	28. Problem Solved, Mostly

**Problem Solved, Mostly:**

"What was that?" I heard Montmorency call out.

"I think she found us first!" I called back from under Louise. "Did you see where that came from?" I asked her directly.

"Not exactly." Louise murmured as she looked around. "I just saw the glint and had a sense of dread."

"Well, I think we're an easier target if we keep laying here." I pointed out, hoping to get the point across for her to get off of me. Her face flushed a bright pint before getting up and taking a ready stance, still sweeping the area to see where the attack had come from.

"There!" Guiche called out. I tried to follow his finger, but a tree blocked my view. As I rolled onto my front to see our assailant, I quickly rolled back as a quick shower of shards rained down. Guiche had erected an earthen barrier between the rain and him and Montmorency. This must have been one heck of a mage, because the ice kept spreading over the barrier even after it hit. I also noticed the tree I was hiding behind also had ice creeping around it.

"Any plans?" I heard Louise call. I looked around and saw that she had her back to the tree adjacent to mine. She already had Derf drawn and ready.

"Do you have her approximate location?" I called as I stood up behind my own tree.

"Just about, but I only got a glimpse."

"That should be good enough. When I jump out, I'm going to teleport behind her. I'll need you to explode the ground in front of her to throw up a dust cloud to distract her. Got it?"

"Got it!" Louise called back, gripping Derf tightly. I drew out my own sword and readied my wand.

"Ok. 1…2…. 3…Now!" I shouted as I jumped out and pointed my wand at the cloaked figure. I got an approximate distance and flicked my wand.

The next thing I saw was the line of trees behind our assailant. I hurriedly tucked away my wand and turned around.

Just then Louise's Explosion spell hit and sent up the planned cloud of dust. The mage and I both threw up our arms as the spray of pebbles shot out at us. I noticed as I held my arms up that the mage was shorter than me and had a very odd looking staff. I was trying to place where I had seen that staff before, when the wind pulled back the mage's hood. She had very light blue hair. Then it clicked that I knew who it was.

"Tabitha?" I asked as I put my arms down. She turned to me, mild shock in her eyes, which was a bigger shock to me. "What are you doing here?"

Before she could answer me, I heard a very sharp crack and she blew into me. I staggered from the impact of her light frame and felt her back. There was mud all over her. Montmorency and Guiche must have thrown this together.

I heard Tabitha groan and I held her at arms length. "Are you ok Tabitha? That sounded like it hurt."

She looked up to me and quickly looked down. She must have seen something, because the last thing I heard was "Not as much as this will."

…

"Of all of the moves he could have pulled he had to do _that!_" I heard Louise call from a bit away.

"Now I'm sure there had to be an explanation Louise." Montmorency consoled her.

"I still say we shouldn't bother while you're still sick." Guiche said. "Besides, he looks happy as he is now."

Now I knew they had to be talking about me in some fashion because there were only two men here, and one of them was patronizing the other. My head was throbbing, probably from the hit I took from being blasted back. My eyes wanted to refuse to open, but I struggled to get them to respond. When they finally complied, I wanted to shut them immediately again.

Louise, Montmorency, and Guiche were bearing down on me. Montmorency looked concerned, Guiche bored, and Louise furious. And I could see why when I looked down.

A passed out Tabitha was lying on my chest. She looked peaceful enough, but I could see the pain from the last two hits on her. And it didn't look like she was going to regain consciousness any time soon.

"I told you he was relaxing." Guiche said. "Now, how about we cure you Louise?"

"Guiche," I called out meekly. "Shut up."

"Oh! And if it isn't mister traitor coming to!" Guiche said in a false sense of hope. "How was betraying us?"

"Guiche!" Louise shot at him. "For now, shut it!"

"Yes Louise dear, whatever pleases you." Guiche said in a sincere bow. He still didn't seem to like it though.

"Now Saito," Louise said as she stood above me, "would you like to explain the situation you're in?"

"Gladly." I groaned. "But first, can I get some help with Tabitha? I think she got hit pretty bad."

"Oh my!" Montmorency said as she covered her mouth. "So that is Tabitha! I thought that was her magic. Guiche, help me with her."

"She just tried to kill us!" Guiche spoke out. "Why would I want to help her?"

"Guiche," Louise said in a warning tone. "Help Montmorency with Tabitha. Then we can" she sighed, "get me cured. And the faster the better."

"Yes ma'am!" Guiche saluted. Montmorency took Tabitha by the shoulders and Guiche grabbed her legs and they carried her off of me.

"Now." Louise said as she kneeled beside me. "That explanation?"

I told her my side of the story up to the point of being blasted unconscious, and she just sighed. "I really have to work on my temper."

"What? Did you think I was embracing another woman on the battlefield?" I joked, but Louise just looked away. If I could have dropped my jaw, I would have. "You honestly thought that? Louise, how can you jump to a conclusion like that?"

"Because it happened before!" She shot at me. She had a tear in her eye, so I just tried to give a sympathetic smile.

"Ok, we can talk about it later. But right now, how about helping me walk?"

"Sure." Louise grumbled as she wiped her eyes. She grabbed my hand and pulled me up into a sitting position. With our combined efforts, we were able to prop me up on her shoulder. I saw Guiche with Tabitha on his back, heading back to the lakeside with Montmorency.

"Man, they sure can hustle it." I smiled.

"Well, when you have a love struck man at your bidding, stuff gets done." Louise chuckled, but it didn't feel like a happy one.

"Well, let's just get this over with and head back to the dorm." I said, not wanting to bring up home.

"Yeah, let's just get home." Louise sighed as we began our way back. I couldn't say anything, both from lack of strength and shock. I had exhausted myself twice now in one day, I had withstood Louise's attack, and she called our room home. All of this was just reeling in my head as we made our way back to the others.

"All right you know what to look for now, right? …Well, it's not my fault it's muddy in there! I just need you to find the spirit again. Also, could you ask her to not be, uh, nude?" I saw Montmorency crouched at the lakeside. "Thank you." She said as she let Robin jump back into the lake. "This should be over in no time."

"But we only knocked Tabitha unconscious." Louise said. "How do we even know that she is the mage that was hunting the Spirit down?"

"Well, we won't know until we get a confirmation." Montmorency sighed. "It's partially our fault for not getting a description beforehand. But if she isn't, she better have a good explanation for attacking us." Montmorency looked over at Tabitha's unconscious form, lying under one of the trees.

"I wouldn't be surprised if she is." I said, gaining the questioning glares of Louise and Montmorency. Guiche didn't seem to care less. "The Princess said that Galia was thinking of killing the Spirit to stop the flooding, and Tabitha _is_ from Galia."

"That's a bit of a leap in logic Saito." Montmorency frowned.

"I'd like to hear a different hypothesis then." I smiled meekly. No one answered me. No one had to, because the Spirit reemerged from the lake, this time in what seemed like an imitation of our school uniform.

"I honestly do not see the point in this request." The Spirit sighed, but then seemed to lock her gaze on Tabitha. "So I see you have dealt with my pursuer. Very considerate of you to give me her body."

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, hold up!" I called, gaining the Spirit's lifeless gaze. It sent small shivers up my spine, but I continued. "We didn't come here to give you another sacrifice, we wanted a positive identification."

"So you intend on letting my pursuer go? To hunt me down until she succeeds in ending me?" The Spirit spoke directly to me.

"Well, I didn't mean that either." I backed down.

"Then you shall give her to me." The Spirit concluded.

"Well hold on!" I shouted, getting off of Louise's shoulder. "The only reason she was sent was because you were flooding into her kingdom." I argued. "She was only under her own contract to kill you. If you stop flooding, then she will have no reason to pursue you."

"Mage, I can not stop 'flooding', as you put it, until what was stolen from me is returned."

"And what was stolen from you?" Louise asked, "This is the first time I've heard of anything being stolen." The Spirit looked to Louise and seemed to immediately loosen up.

"A treasure of mine. A treasure known as the Ring of Anderville."

"The Ring of Anderville?" Montmorency gasped. "But that's… that's…"

"That is what was given to me to seal your family contract, yes. It is a great threat to both the physical and spirit world. It's dark magic was never meant for mortal man. Thus, I must retrieve it at all costs."

"What if I were to retrieve the ring for you?" Louise asked.

"Louise!" I looked at her. "You don't even know what it looks like or does!"

"Montmorency knows what it is, so we can work from there." Louise shrugged. "And if we can make this deal, then she'll recede the lake and Tabitha doesn't have to die."

"But she'll never go for it." Montmorency groaned.

"I will agree to your proposal." The Spirit said.

"What!" Louise, Montmorency, myself, and even Guiche exclaimed.

"B-But we don't even know where it is." Montmorency stammered. "We have no idea how long it will take."

"That matters not." The Spirit said. "The Gandalfr has held to their word before, and so shall this Gandalfr. She is all I need for reassurance."

"Wait, the Gandalfr has helped you before?" I asked.

"Not I specifically, but the spirit world rarely forgets, and word spreads of their acts. It is said that the word of the Gandalfr is a word kept."

"That is Louise for you!" Guiche spoke up. "She will never let someone down!"

"Guiche, not helping." Louise said annoyed. He shrank back. Louise turned her attention back to the Spirit. "So, if I promise to return the Ring of Anderville, then you will recede Lagdorian Lake back to its proper banks?"

"I shall, and I shall still keep to my last promise." The Spirit raised her hand out in front of her. I was confused for a second, but then I saw a droplet start to fall from her middle finger. I was nowhere near a container and started to panic.

"I've got it!" I heard Guiche call. He already had a bottle under the Spirit, waiting for it to fall in. And I saw a perfect opportunity. I staggered slowly up to Guiche as he waited patiently for Louise's 'cure'. As the drop fell into the bottle, I forced the bottom of the bottle up and up into Guiche's mouth.

In an automatic motion, Guiche swallowed. He took the bottle out and glared at me. "How dare you! Now we'll never… cure… Louise? What was I talking about?" Then he looked down at the bottle and up at the Spirit, and his face fell. "My reputation."

"Probably in shambles by now." I said as I put my arm around him, both in comfort and support. "But I'm sure we can come up with a reasonable excuse by the time we get back to the school."

"Maybe." Guiche looked glum. "But I don't think I can come up with anything that could cover _this_ up."

"Come on." I said as I started to force him towards the horses. "It's been a long day for everyone. I don't think an overnight here would hurt anyone. What do you two say?"

"I haven't got a problem with it." Montmorency shrugged.

"Plus we don't know where Tabitha's stuff is, if she has any." Louise pointed out.

"Well, all for the better. Now, if no one would mind, I think I'm going to take a page from Tabitha's book and take a nap." I said as I got off of Guiche and hobbled over to the tree Tabitha was resting under. "Wake me when food's ready." And with that, I closed my eyes, let out a sigh, and fell into a dreamless sleep.


	29. Setting for the Night

**Setting for the Night:**

"Saito? Saito? Wake up, soups up." I heard Louise as she shook me awake. I groaned in complaint as I rubbed my eyes. Louise was kneeling next to me with a bowl of what appeared to be a plain broth with some lumps of meat floating in it. "I know it's nothing grand, but it's better than plain broth." Louise smiled.

"Now there's something to wake up to." I smiled back. Louise blushed a bit as she held out my bowl of soup. As I took the bowl, my stomach growled fiercely. It was then that I remembered that I had not eaten for the whole day. I took one spoonful of broth before I disregarded the spoon all together and just drank from the bowl.

As I looked around, I saw that two tents and a small fire were set up a bit away with Guiche and Montmorency sitting around it. Tabitha was still unconscious beside me.

"You don't need to be a pig about it you know." Louise smiled as she sat there and watched me. It almost made me forget about how she blew me up. Almost. But right now didn't seem like the appropriate time to bring that little discussion up.

"So how's camp set up gone?" I asked as I put the bowl.

Louise didn't seem to like the turn of the conversation. "Well, you're lucky Guiche was here, otherwise we wouldn't have a camp, or supper for that matter. I certainly didn't know how to set up a tent, and neither did Montmorency."

"Ok, so what's the problem?" Louise seemed like she was trying to purposely avoid a subject, but was having a hard time doing it.

"We don't have enough…" Louise mumbled.

"Have enough what, Louise? You're going to have to speak up."

"We don't have enough tent space." Louise said. "Guiche didn't bring one and te ones we have only fit two people each."

"All right, I think that's plenty of room though."

"But what about Tabitha?" Louise pointed to the still unconscious mage.

"Oh, right." I considered Tabitha, and then I thought of her own stuff. "Have we found any of her supplies?"

"No." Louise shook her head. "After we noticed the shortage of space, we all went looking, but we didn't find anything that looked like a camp anywhere near here."

"Well, let me give a look around." I said as I tried to stand. I failed as Louise pushed me back down.

"Oh no you're not. You've already passed out three times today, I'm not going to let you push yourself any further than you have already."

"Fine, fine. I'll just give up my spot then."

"Negative to that too. You're too weak to sleep outside unguarded. We don't know what kind of ravaging animal could be out here, and you defiantly couldn't defend yourself if something happened. Guiche already gave up his spot."

"The what's the problem?" I asked in genuine confusion. If Guiche was sleeping out side, that left four people with enough space to sleep.

"I, _we_, don't know how to set up sleeping arrangements." Louise grumbled.

"Well that's easy. Tabitha and Montmorency in one and you and me in the oth-" I cut midsentence as I remembered just this morning. "Oh."

"Yeah." Louise scratched the back of her head. "I don't really know either. Montmorency is pushing it as normal, but…"

"It is a bit strained." I admitted. "And it would look a bit odd to the others if you didn't. But, there's your sudden mood swings-"

"My sudden what?" Louise glared at me.

"See? Right there. That's exactly what I'm talking about. You always seem to take offense to every little thing I say."

"If you said less offensive things, I wouldn't take as much offense."

"Yeah, right." I sighed. "Look, we're just going to have to get over the awkward and just bunk up for the night."

"Just as long as you don't try anything again." Louise mumbled.

"Hey! I didn't do anything, you're the one who jumped to con-"

"SISTER!" I girl's voice rang out across the clearing. "Where are you?"

"That's new." Louise said as she stood up, alert. "Does Tabitha have any siblings?"

"I dunno. She never talks about home, but Kirche hasn't gossiped about any either, so I'm inclined to say no." Guiche and Montmorency also looked a bit disturbed, but settled down after a second.

"And I doubt Montmorency has any that would have followed her out here. Well then, we have a little girl lost in the forest then. I'm going to go look for her." Louise said as she turned to leave.

"I'll go too." I said as I stood up.

"No you're not!" Louise turned back to me. "What did I just say? You're too weak to go on a-"

"SISTER!" A small, blue haired girl came into the clearing that was our camp. Guiche and Montmorency jumped at the sight of her, but the girl didn't even seem phased by the sight of a camp. "Sister!" The girl brightened up as she looked our direction.

"Well, I think we just got an answer." Louise said as we watched the girl run to and hug the unconscious form of Tabitha.

"You made me worry so much! After you didn't come back from patrol and left me all alone with no food! Do you have any idea how hungry I am right now?" She asked as she held Tabitha out at arms length. In response, Tabitha's head rolled forward. "Oh no! Please don't be dead! Who would I go to if you died?" The girl began to cry.

"She's not dead, she's just unconscious. Now who are you?" Louise demanded as she looked down at the kneeling girl. The girl just looked up, wide-eyed, like she was just noticing there were other people around her.

"Oh, I'm Sylph- uh, Illococoo. Yeah, that's the one." The girl said as she stood up. She was just slightly taller than Louise, and this didn't seem to help Louise's mood.

"All right Illococoo, now why are you here?"

"I'm looking for my sister of course!" Illococoo seemed a bit defensive now. "Isn't that obvious?"

"I don't know. As far as I know, Tabitha doesn't have any sisters."

"Tabitha? Oh right! Well, Tabitha doesn't tend to talk much, and, uh, I only see her when we go hunting!" Illococoo was making up on the spot. I could tell, and I think Louise could too. But she seemed harmless enough, and she did seem genuinely relieved when she learned Tabitha was fine.

"Hey Louise? Do we have any of that soup left?" I asked.

"Yeah, why? You still hungry?" Louise looked at me.

"Then lets give this poor girl some food. You heard how hungry she is." I picked up the bowl and smiled.

"But we don't even- Urg, fine. But I'm blaming you for anything that goes wrong with her." Louise huffed as she snatched the bowl and marched toward the dazed and confused couple.

"Yay food!" Illococoo cheered.

"Yes, food. Now, can you tell me where you came from?" I asked as the girl jumped around in excitement.

"Um, that way I think?" Illococoo pointed to where she had entered the clearing.

"Did you walk in a straight line, or did you wander?"

"A straight line, like always. It gets difficult on the ground though." Illococoo pouted.

"So you fly with your sister on her familiar?"

"I am her familiar." Illococoo blurted before thinking of what she said. She quickly covered up her mouth. "Forget I said that. Sister told me not to tell anyone."

"All right, it'll be our little secret, deal?"

"Deal!" Illococoo brightened up.

"What deal?" Louise asked as she came back over with a filled bowl.

"She said that she'll lead us back to her camp so that we can move all of Tabitha's stuff here." I said as I took the bowl and handed it to Illococoo. "Right?"

"Right!" She nodded vigorously as she grabbed the bowl from my hands. She didn't even try tasting the soup. Instead, Illococoo forgoed using the spoon and just drank the whole bowl. "Hah, delicious, can I have another?"

"You just drank the last of it." Louise said in shock at Illococoo's actions. "So, where is Tabitha's stuff?"

"That way." Illococoo pointed the same way again.

"So let's go get it shall we?"

"What did I say before?" Louise glared at me. "You're too weak to go anywhere. Just sit down and rest while we go get the stuff."

"Um, I don't know." I glanced at Illococoo.

"I said you're staying, and that's that." Louise poked me in the chest. I toppled back onto the ground. "See? You can't even stand up against a stiff breeze, less to say having to go anywhere. So just stay here and make sure Tabitha has someone around when she wakes up."

"All right." I grumbled. I didn't like being bossed around by my familiar, but she did have a point. "Fine then, go and get Tabitha's stuff." I waved.

"Right." Louise nodded sharply. "Come on you." Louise grabbed Illococoo and started to drag her off.

"Hey! There's no reason to be so rough." Illococoo complained as she followed Louise. I sighed as I moved back to against the tree and watched as Louise grabbed Montmorency, who in turn grabbed Guiche and they headed off into the forest.

I watched over the empty campsite from my position for several minutes before finally yawning and starting to drift back off to sleep. Tabitha's groans made me stop however. I turned over to see her slowly coming back to consciousness. I moved myself in front of her and waited for her to come around on her own. As her eyes slowly opened, she set her eyes on me and snapped awake.

As she lurched to the side, she groaned in pain and I grabbed her by the shoulders. "Hey now, no need to be hasty, you took Louise's explosion directly. Try not to exert yourself too much, I'm under the same orders."

Tabitha looked over my shoulders and saw the camp. "Where's everyone?" She asked shortly.

"Um, they kind of went looking for your stuff." I sat back and scratched my head. "With your… eh hem… sister." Tabitha's eyes widened in surprise.

"Where are they?" Tabitha asked again, this time more urgently.

"They went for your stuff, don't worry." I tried to calm her, without much success. "It's not that big of a deal, Illococoo knows where they're going."

"But Sylphid…" Tabitha tapered off. Tabitha laid back and smiled. "All right."

"Really?" One second she seems to be freaking out, the next, she's completely fine. I knew Tabitha was a calm and collected girl, but I have seen those exact same types of men. Shin was the same way in a way, and when he got angry, he got _angry_. "Are you sure you're all right?"

"Yes. Now, where's my staff?" Tabitha asked as she began to stand.

"Oh no you don't." I grabbed her shoulder and pulled her down. "We're not going anywhere. I don't know where your staff is, or my wand for that matter. They're probably still up the hill where we got blown up."

"I have my mission." Tabitha said as she reinforced her efforts to leave.

"No you don't." Tabitha stopped to look at me. "You're mission was to eliminate the Spirit of the lake correct?" Tabitha nodded. "For flooding?" Another nod. "Then don't worry, we solved that. With a promise, she promised to recede back to her original banks." Tabitha lay back down against the tree. "So, we agree to find my wand and your staff in the morning?" Tabitha just nodded again. "All right then. I would offer you food, but Illococoo ate the last of it."

"That's fine. I have my own reserves." Tabitha reassured me.

"Oh good." I sighed as I sat back against the tree again. After a measurable pause, Tabitha actually spoke to me first.

"Saito?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks."

"For what?"

"For staying."

"Yeah, well, thank Louise when she gets back, she made me stay."

"Maybe I will." I sat up to look at her, but she was asleep. I just shook my head and awaited the others to get back. It wasn't long until the four made their way back, and I could tell they were coming five minutes from when they showed up because of how much they were making. When they were in sight, I could see why they were making so much noise.

They were carrying the bags that should have all been carried by Sylphid. Guiche was bagged down with most of it while Louise and Montmorency were having trouble with what was left.

"What is up with all of this?" I asked as I stood up to help.

"It was all just lying there." Guiche huffed as he dropped what sounded like pots and pans. "Just how long do you think she's been out here?"

"A day or two maybe." I guessed. "Probably longer though."

"She has been gone from school for a while." Montmorency said as she delicately put down her portion. "But I'm kind of worried for Sylphid."

"Why do you say that?" I asked as I took a quick glance at Illococoo.

"Well, if we have Tabitha and Sylphid is nowhere around here, what are we going to say to Tabitha when she wakes up?" Louise posed as she sat down. "I mean, you would be scared out of your mind if I up and disappeared, right?"

"Of course I would!" I jumped at any accusation that I didn't care for Louise. "But, I don't think we have to worry. Tabitha's a pretty levelheaded girl, I'm sure she has faith in Sylphid. She is a dragon after all."

"I guess you're right." Montmorency sighed. "But it's getting pretty late, we should all probably turn in."

"Um, I see a problem now." I said, gaining everyone's attention. "We have Illococoo now, and we still only have room for four people."

"You're right." Guiche considered the tents. "We could always squeeze three to one of them."

"We already went over that Guiche. Three is too cramped to sleep properly." Montmorency berated him. "What about Tabitha's stuff? Surely she should have at least a one person tent."

"Illococoo?" I asked.

"Yeah, of course we have one. But, I don't know how to set it up."

"Well, we can always figure that out." I patted her on the head. "So which pack is it in?"

"Um, this one?" She pointed at one of the packs on the ground.

"Are you sure? That felt like cooking stuff to me." Guiche questioned Illococoo's choice.

"I dunno. Sister packed it all so fast, I didn't see properly." Illococoo looked down.

"I guess we go though until we find it." I sighed.

"No need." Tabitha said. I turned to see her standing, but supporting herself against the tree.

"Sister!" Illococoo squealed in glee as she tackled her sister. "You had me _sooo_ worried! But your friends gave me yummy food and took care of you so well that I brought all of our stuff here."

"I can see that." Tabitha patted Illococoo on the head. "The tent is in that one." Tabitha pointed to the bag next to the one Illococoo had pointed at. "It's the same."

As Guiche and I unpacked the bag, we found that she was right. It was exactly the same as the tents we already had set up. After a few minutes of fussing, we got the tent up.

"So, I guess that means we have enough space for everyone." I said as I stood up.

"Yeah, space." Louise mumbled.

"So, what about all of our stuff then?" I asked everyone, preferring to overlook Louise's comment. "We can't just leave it lying around."

"Oh don't worry about that." Guiche brought out his rose. He swept it around in a circle, losing six petals in an even pattern. They floated for a second before flying off and implanting themselves in the ground. There was suddenly a medium sized wall surrounding the camp. "It might not stand up to major attacks, but it should keep any wild animal out."

"I'm going to bed." Tabitha said as she scrounged through the bag Louise brought and pulled out a pillow and blanket. Without another word, she headed to her tent and not a peep was heard afterward.

"We all should." Montmorency yawned. "Guiche, you're with me."

"Of course my dear. Just let me get-"

"Oh no, no comforts for you. You get the ground." Montmorency headed into the tent, dragging Guiche by the collar behind her.

"So, is our stuff already in the tent?" I asked Louise.

"Yes." She replied shortly.

"Well, it's just like the Inn, right?"

"Maybe." Louise said without any emotion.

"Come on Louise, let's just get some proper sleep before heading back to school."

"Yeah." I ducked into the tent and found what I expected. It was just two blankets and two pillows, separated by just enough space to move around to not elbow your tent mate. I just picked a side and lay down to sleep and faced the tent wall. Louise crawled into the other space without a word.

"Goodnight Louise."

"Night Saito."

It was an uncomfortable silence, but I somehow managed to fall asleep. Peaceful, actual sleep this time.


	30. Heading Home

**Heading Home:**

As I woke up, I braced myself for having to get out from Louise's embrace with waking her, but as more of my senses came to me, I didn't feel her arm draped over me. I turned over and found Louise wasn't even in the tent. Her blanket and pillow were gone and there were sounds of shifting bags outside. I got up and went out to check on what was going on.

As I emerged from the tent, I saw Louise at our horse, seedling it up for the trip back to school. Guiche and Tabitha were also doing the same, albeit Tabitha having to pack everything on the ground.

"Morning everyone." I called.

Tabitha just nodded in my direction, Guiche waved, and Louise didn't respond at all. I walked up to her to both check on the bags and talk to her privately.

"You know these bags can get kind of heavy." I commented.

"Guiche helped a bit."

"You could have just woken me up, I wouldn't have minded."

"You needed your rest. Besides, now isn't the time to ask favors of each other."

"Louise, it was one argument, it's nothing that has to rip us apart."

"No, it isn't, but I need some time for myself, ok?"

"Sure, but it'll have to be after we get back, we're sharing the horse."

"You could always hitch a ride with Tabitha on Sylphid."

"Um…" I glanced over to Tabitha, who didn't seem to have a problem moving around all of her equipment. "I don't know if I should impose on her that much."

"I'm quite sure she wouldn't mind." Louise said, a slight edge in her voice.

"But what about Illococoo? She'll be riding with her sister as well."

"Please, I know she's Sylphid." Louise finally looked up at me, a look of disbelief in them. "Running around looking for her master, taking a form as to not scare anyone she comes across? I don't know how dragons usually work here, but that sounds like a magical familiar to me."

I just looked down at Louise for a second, contemplating. I just sighed in defeat. "I'll ask, but if she says no, I'm not asking to ride with Montmorency or Guiche."

"Fine." Louise said dismissively as she turned back to the saddlebags. "And after that, start to take down the tent."

"Yes ma'am." I rolled my eyes as I walked over to Tabitha. If she could saddle up the horse that well, I'm surprised she needed help putting up a tent.

As I approached Tabitha, she noticed me and stopped working as she looked at me. She didn't ask me about anything, so I just stumbled into the conversation.

"So, uh, Louise wants to, um, ride alone and try out controlling the horse herself, so I was wondering if I could fly with you."

Tabitha didn't say anything for a moment. She then looked around me at Louise, and then went back into her tent. I heard a sudden "Of course!" come from Illococoo before Tabitha could quiet her. She came out a second later and looked up at me again before speaking.

"You know of Illococoo?"

"Being, uh, Sylphid?" Tabitha nodded. "Yeah." I said slowly as I looked away. "She kind of blurted it out while no one was around."

Tabitha sighed. "She agrees, but after everyone's left."

"Oh, ok." I walked away and returned to Louise. "Tabitha said it was ok if I rode with her, but are you sure I should-"

"Saito." Louise stopped me as she fully turned to me. "Yesterday was just crazy. We had that fight, and then Guiche made that scene, and then we ran off here, then we had a fight with Tabitha that left you both unconscious, and then we go to bed. We've been together with this awkward air between us, and I think this would be a fine time to have some time to ourselves. Don't you think?"

"I guess you're right." I sighed. "I'll go tear down the tent." I walked away from Louise and did exactly what she said, and began thinking.

In one day, we started off with her yelling at me about attacking her in the night, and by that night, she begrudgingly bunks up with me. What was that deal? Usually, from what Katra did when she was angry, she would have at least held that against me for another day or so before even thinking of reconciliation.

But when Guiche came under the effects of the love potion, the first person she asked help from was Siesta and I. Not that she had much of a choice, but she still could have decided not to speak to me at all. Yet she went along with me when I said Montmorency had a plan. I don't think I helped my case when I declared her my familiar, or passing out, but she did look concerned when she heard I could have died.

As I finished rolling up the tent, I sat there for a second and sighed. It was just so confusing. One second she's angry with me, and the next she decides she needs me. I stood up and picked up the packed tent and turned to Louise to see her beating her head. I strode over to see what was wrong.

"No, no, it's not like that! …Well of course, but he's different. …What do you mean by that?" I heard her half whisper, half hiss to herself.

"Is something wrong Louise?"

She turned to me and sighed. "Just arguing with myself. Is that the tent?"

"Yeah."

"I'll take that. Go see if you can get Montmorency up." Louise ordered as she took the tent form my hands.

"Sure." I said slowly before going.

Now that I thought about it, her behavior always did seem a bit too radical. What if she had one of those split-personality things? Or she wasn't fully human? She was able to use Derf as a wand, and even with how diverse a wand could be; there had never been a full metal one before. Could she be an elemental of a sort? Just with memory loss? But that wouldn't explain her strange clothing, or her speaking French.

"Montmorency, are you up?" I called as I stood next to the tent. I heard a slight groan and a shuffle of cloth. "You should be up and about soon, we should be leaving shortly."

"Just give me a second will you?" I heard a grumpy Montmorency respond.

"Sure, sure." I backed away from the tent. I looked around the site, but I didn't feel that there was much else for me to do. Louise was insistent on packing up the horse herself, Guiche and Tabitha were fully capable of packing their own things, but then something that I could do came to me.

I approached Tabitha again. "Hey, uh, Tabitha? Is Illococoo up?" Tabitha just looked at me and nodded. "Um, would you mind if I took her to go grab our wands?"

"Sure." Tabitha said simply as she turned back to her work. I was a bit worried with how large some of the things she was moving were, but she seemed just fine. I went over to her tent and called for Illococoo.

"Illococoo?"

"Yes?" She popped her head out of the tent flap.

"Could you come with me to grab Tabitha's staff?"

"Sure! Just let me get dressed then." She pulled her head back into the tent. I could feel my face flush as I quickly turned my back to her. She might be a shape-shifting dragon, but she was still in the form of a small girl.

But where would that leave Louise to me if she were some sort of mythical creature? Would I still treat her like I do now? Or would I change?

"Okie doikie! I'm ready to go!" Illococoo called as she burst out of the tent.

"Right so let's just head up the… hill." I began to walk as I noticed the wall of stone that was still erected around the camp. "One second." I said to Illococoo as I jogged over to Guiche. "Hey Guiche!"

"Yes Saito?" Guiche inquired as he turned to me.

"Can you take down the wall? Illococoo and I need to head out for a second."

Guiche gave me a puzzled look before smiling. "And I thought I was smooth. Going after a girl after one day, and Tabitha's sister no less you dog."

"What?" I heard Louise snap attention to our conversation.

"No no no! Nothing like that! Tabitha and my wands were left over at the battle site yesterday. We were just going to grab them."

"Sure, sure, go 'grab the wands'." Guiche winked to me as he pulled out his rose. After a few flicks, the wall surrounding the camp fell.

"Thanks Guiche." I waved as I left toward the site of the explosion.

It was a lot shorter trek then I thought it would be. Maybe it was just my damaged perception or a slow pace beforehand, but not two minute later we were at the site of the explosion. It was easy enough to tell, there were two very large holes in the ground with debris everywhere.

"So, this is approximately where they should be." I said to Illococoo as we stopped. "You should know what Tabitha's staff should look like, and my wand is about yay long and perfectly round with a thicker end for being a handle, got it?"

"Got it!" Illococoo saluted as she went over to some of the shrubbery. I began my search as well.

It took much longer than I expected to find the two wands. Tabitha's should have been super easy to find, but there wasn't a trace of it. Mine was obviously going to take longer to find, but this was getting ridiculous.

As I heard a rustling nearby, I stopped. Illococoo had gone in the opposite direction of me, and I hadn't heard her for the last five minutes. I reached down for my sword, but then remembered that it was back at the camp, I hadn't thought I would need it. I slowly approached the sound, and found a very strange sight.

"Wardes?" I asked as I stood up straight. The grey-cloaked man snapped his attention to me and pointed his wand at me, making me raise my hands. He slowly lowered his hand as he recognized me.

"Saito? What are you doing out here?"

"I could ask you the same thing."

"I was out here to examine the strange noises the village nearby had heard last night. Now, again, why are you here?"

I laughed nervously as I looked away. "Those noises would have, uh, been me and my familiar in a fight yesterday."

"A fight? Are you ok? Who was the other combatant? Should I contact-"

"No! No. We're fine, and it was just a misunderstanding. We and the other mage had the same mission and we got it done fine. But during the short confrontation, we both lost our wands."

"Would this be one of them?" Wards asked as he held up Tabitha's staff.

"Yes! Yes, that's Tabitha's. Did you happen to find mine near hers?"

"No, I only found this one." Wardes said as he stood up and handed me the staff. "But it is fortunate that I ran into you out here. I was just on my way to the Academy after this."

"Really? Why?"

"Because you have another letter." Wardes said as he pulled a letter from his cloak.

"What are you now, a royal letter man?" I joked as I took the letter. I stopped joking as I recognized the seal on the letter. It was the seal of Albion, the white country.

"It came in one of the few trade ships that is still allowed to ship for the commoners." Wardes explained. "One of the crew was one of Wales soldiers. He came for me directly, not wanting the Princess to know he was there."

"But, what about-" I began, but Wardes held up a hand.

"Wales knows it's a losing battle. The rebellion is not going to be quelled. It's a matter of time before he falls to a blade, before that happens, he wants you to go and retrieve what he needs you too. More shall be reviled in the letter, but that is what the messenger told me."

"Right." I nodded as I opened my pouch to put the letter in, but my hand brushed against something. I looked down and began to laugh. Wardes looked at me questioningly as I pulled out my wand. "I had completely forgotten I had put this in there!" Wardes smiled a little.

"Always the forgetful one you were." Wardes sighed before turning serious again. "But you know what to do, correct?"

"Yes." I replied as I put the letter and wand away. "As soon as I have the chance, I'll head out."

"Good." Wardes nodded. "Then, I should head back to my unit. I shall see you later." Wardes waved as he left. I looked down at Tabitha's staff before heading back to the explosion site. As I came back, I could see Illococoo sitting next to one of the craters, sighing.

"What's wrong Illococoo?"

"I couldn't find sisters staff or your wand." Illococoo sighed again.

"Well, good news. I found both." Illococoo looked back at me with wide eyes.

"Yippie! Now we can head back for sister!"

"Yeah, lets go." I smiled, not forgetting that I had the letter from Wales now riding with me.

As we got back to camp, well, there wasn't a camp. In fact, there was only Tabitha waiting on her bags. Louise, Guiche, and Montmorency were all gone.

"Where did everyone go?" I asked as I handed over Tabitha's staff.

"Louise told the others you were riding with me." Tabitha said as she took the staff and looked at Illococoo. "Now is safe."

"Finally." Illococoo sighed as she began taking off her shirt.

"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you doing?" I asked as I grabbed Illococoo's shirt to keep it on.

"I can't change with these things on, otherwise they'll tear." Illococoo said matter of factly.

"Don't you have any modesty?" I asked, amazed at her bluntness on the subject.

"Why, everyone has seen me without clothes plenty of times."

"Yes, but, but, you were a dragon then." I grasped at straws.

"And? I'm still me."

I tried to argue, but I couldn't come up with anything. "F-Fine, just don't do it while I'm looking." I let go of her shirt and turned away.

"Finally." Illococoo sighed. Not a minute later, I suddenly felt a giant presence behind me. I turned to see Illococoo had defiantly turned into Sylphid. As I looked up at her, I could still see the playful twinkle in her eye that belonged to Illococoo.

It just made me smile as one of my own petty concerns was laid to rest. Even if Louise was some other kind of being, she was still Louise. She was always going to be Louise.

"Are you coming or walking?" Tabitha asked from her spot on Sylphid. I shook my head to come out of my own daze. The bags were already on and Tabitha was just looking down at me.

"How did you-?" I asked as I pointed between the ground and Sylphid.

"Easy." Tabitha said as she raised her staff. "Now, are you coming?"

"Yeah, sure, but how do I, um, get up?" As in answer, Sylphid lowered her shoulder and tucked in her wing. With a bit of a struggle, I made my way up and got behind Tabitha.

Without a word of warning, Sylphid crouched and took off. I quickly grabbed onto Tabitha as to not fall off, but almost immediately let go, remembering Louise's complaint.

"Why did you let go? It's dangerous up here." Tabitha's voice carried surprisingly easily, even with the gathering noise.

"I thought I was grabbing to tightly, and impeding on your space." I said as I grabbed my pant legs. Tabitha grabbed my sleeve and put it around her waist.

"Not at all."

I hesitantly wrapped my other arm around, but as Sylphid suddenly bucked up and down, I quickly grabbed on tighter. Tabitha didn't say anything else, and I was glad that I could focus on not focusing on falling off.


	31. A Call For Help

**A Call For Help:**

Tabitha and I landed in front of the school gates before the others even got in range of them, which was to be expected. As I got off, Tabitha followed after me and Illococoo took off. Without a word, Tabitha walked off toward the girl's dorms. Now was a good a time as ever to take a break, and if Louise were here, she would probably make me rest anyways, so I went over to the wall and sat back against it and sighed.

I might have been sitting for the last hours, but being on solid ground just relaxed me more. So there I sat for the longest time, head back, taking in the fresh air. When I felt it was time, I took out the letter Wards had handed me.

Albion, the white country, the island in the sky. These were all the same place, and one currently under civil war. The nobles gained the ridiculous idea to overthrow the monarchy, and that consisted of one of my closest friends, Wales Tudor. From the spare times he visited Henrietta, we would have the best of times. No offense to Henrietta, but it was just easier with Wales. I didn't feel so guilty when we roughhoused. But now, this was probably his will.

I carefully tore the seal off and took out the notice inside.

_Dear Saito,_

_I'm sorry to have to send you this request, but it is of upmost importance. I know that the rebelling nobles will soon find our last sanctuary, and there are items I cannot come to ridding of personally. They mean too much to me to burn and even if I were to toss them off the side of Albion, others would probably find them. If it were only to besmirch my name, then I wouldn't care, but my beloved's reputation is also on the line. You know I cannot allow that to happen, so I beg of you, old friend, find a way to the country before it falls, and meet where I had planned the wedding._

_Prince of Albion,_

_Wales Tudor_

I had to read the note again, to make sure I hadn't missed anything, but I hadn't. It was just like him to be mysterious, even at times like this. I just chuckled as I gripped the paper tighter. I didn't notice until they hit the paper, but tears were streaming slowly from my eyes. I knew what this was, but I didn't want to believe it. He couldn't be writing one now, of all times.

It wasn't fair! Wales had every right to live, but everyone was just a greedy bastard! Tristain was lucky to only have sparse amounts of Mott's and Chillan's, and they only looked for exploitable profits. But here was a country full of heretics, looking to overthrow an innocent man for their own gain. I just balled my fist up and pounded the side of the school, and just kept pounding out my frustration until it was done. I then curled up and waited.

I must have fallen asleep because I had to be shaken awake. When I looked up, I was met with a worried Louise, which just made me smile.

"Sorry to keep worrying you." I said in a barely audible voice.

"Saito, what's wrong? Why are your eyes so red? How long have you been sitting here? And where did you get that letter?" Louise's gaze was drawn to the letter still clutched in my hand.

"It's nothing Louise. Just another letter saying that we're needed outside of school again."

"Again?" Louise sighed in annoyance.

"Yeah." I chuckled as I began to get up, but winced as I tried to put weight on my right hand.

"What's-? What did you do to your hand!" Louise gasped as she grabbed my hand. I took a look at it and wonder why it wasn't hurting like it looked like it would. The entire bottom was pulsing red with multiple small cuts from the wall. "Geez, I take my eyes off you for a few hours and you go get yourself hurt. Come on, we're going to go see your sister." Louise sighed as she pulled me up by my forearm. I stumbled a bit and ended up directly up against Louise. There was a slight flush in her cheeks before she pushed me back with little force. "Get a sense of balance at least."

"Yeah, yeah." I said with no real conviction behind it.

"Are you okay?" Louise asked.

"I don't think so." I murmured. "But let's get the horse taken care of before me."

"Oh no, you're not putting this off. Guiche! Can you take care of the horse? Saito need's to get his hand healed." Louise called behind her. I looked up to see that Montmorency and Guiche were both still on the road and Guiche was holding the reigns to my horse.

"Sure thing." Guiche waved, taking the horses into the school grounds.

"How long have you been sitting here anyways?" Louise asked as she turned back to me.

"I don't know, how long ago did Tabitha and I pass you?"

"Four hours ago. Are you telling me you've been sitting here for four hours?"

"Probably." I shrugged.

"Honestly, your like a puppy I have to look after." Louise sighed in annoyance. "Come on." Louise grabbed me by the forearm again and led me toward the center tower. There was little I could say against her, and she was right that my hand would just be an annoyance if I didn't get it healed. I didn't know what time it was, but guessing from the noise coming from the dining hall, it was probably around the end of lunchtime.

We didn't even take a glance in, however, and just preceded up the tower, making our way to the medicinal office. When we arrived however, the sight of a sleeping phoenix only thing greeting us.

"Where is she?" Louise asked, looking around the room.

"Katra is probably downstairs eating lunch like a sensible person." I sighed as I took a seat on one of the beds.

"What is with you?" Louise asked as she took a seat across from me. "You've been in a sour mood since I got here. What happened between camp and school to get you like this?"

"Just…time to think, I guess." I shrugged. "That was kind of the point of us riding separately."

"Yeah." Louise sat back, grabbing at her skirt. "So, when did you get that letter?" Louise asked, obviously trying to change the subject.

"I got it… as soon as Tabitha and I landed." I lied. It would probably sound weird or deceitful if I said I got it before leaving camp. "We got here as a messenger was riding in."

"So, what's it say?"

"It's…" I sighed. "It's a request from a friend of mine to collect a few things from him."

"That's it? Well at least it sounds easier than our last two jobs." Louise smiled.

"Yeah, sounds." I looked down at the letter again. "The problem is that he's currently in the middle of a war zone."

That made Louise sit up rigidly. "Who is the letter from?"

"The prince of Albion, Wales Tudor." I sighed.

"That's odd." Louise mused.

"What is?" I asked, looking up. If Louise found something odd about this, I wanted to know.

"Well, there's a country from I'm from that was once called Albion. It wouldn't happen to be across the sea would it?"

I just shook my head. "No, this Albion is floating in the sky."

Louise just stared at me in disbelief. "You mean to tell me there's an entire manmade country, _in the sky?_"

"Well, man didn't make it. It was a long time ago, but there was an earthquake that broke Albion off from the mainland, and just as it did, the tide swept in and carried the country into the sky. Or at least, that's how it's been told."

"But, how does it stay up in the air? Is the entire country enchanted?"

"Well, it's thought that the many deposits of wind stones keep it up. That is, natural stone that channels wind magic."

"Huh." Louise seemed to contemplate as she sat back. "So, if the country is currently floating in the sky, and it's in the middle of a war, how do we get there to get anything?"

"There are a few trade ships that get through on authority of the leading faction, and that's how the letter was able to get to me. So I was thinking we would use the same methods."

"That's a bit simple."

"Hey, simple is best." I smiled somberly. If only a mission like this could _be_ simple.

"So, how do you know a prince of a foreign country anyways? It didn't seem like anyone got really close to Henrietta when she was here, so how do you know Wales?"

It seemed like a good a question as any to ask. "Well, you see, Henrietta doesn't have that many friends due to being royalty, but due to connections between father and the king, and Shin with the military, Henrietta and I were able to meet and play on fair basis, and a few of those times I met Wales. Not to say anything bad about Henrietta, but Wales was just easier to interact with."

"In short, you could be rougher with him than Henrietta."

"Right. And it wasn't all that long before the three of us were a tight knit group. But, stations have kept us apart. And that is what makes this next part so hard. It's been four years, at least, since I last saw Wales face to face. And this will probably be the last time too."

"Why? Why would this time be the last time? Couldn't Wales just stow away on one of the trade ships and-"

"It's not that simple." I shook my head. "If you thought Mott or Chillan was bad, then the rebellion is worse. They will scheme and kill for power. Wales coming to Tristain would only incite them to begin a war against us. No, the only choices Wales is to either win, or die."

"That's ridiculous!" Louise proclaimed as she stood up. "There's no reason for it! Is the only reason why they're rebelling is for power?"

"Yes." I nodded.

"Then couldn't they have petitioned for more? Or done something else to-"

"This is the easiest way." I cut Louise off. "They don't care that others suffer. As long as they have results immediately, they'll do it. Even a majority of the populace backs them, again, for the same reasons."

"But that's so short sighted!"

"What's short sighted?" Katra asked as she entered the room. Felix immediately perked up and flew over to Katra. I looked behind me and saw her feeding him some meat from her hand. "And what are you two doing here? I didn't see you at lunch."

"We weren't here for lunch." I said slowly. "And what's shortsighted are the goals of the Albion rebels."

"Ah." Katra acknowledged. "What brought that about?"

I didn't answer with words. Instead, I just handed Katra the letter. As she took it, I saw her eyes glance down at my right hand. She didn't say anything right off, instead accepting the letter and reading it. When she finished, she simply folded it up and placed it on her desk.

"You know what he's saying, correct?" Katra asked as she pulled the desk's chair to the end of the bed.

"Yeah." I said to the ground.

"What's so terrible now?" Louise asked, all fury leaving her as she sat across from me again.

"That's not just a simple request. It's a last Will and Testament." Katra said as she pulled a tray from under the bed. With a simple flick of her wand, the tray filled halfway with water. Felix hopped from Katra's shoulder to the rim and bent over it, letting two tears fall into the water. "Put your hand in here." Katra offered me the tray. I took it and placed my hand in the water. Within a second I could feel a soothing relief to the swollen part of my hand.

"What do you mean a last Will? I hardly think something that long could be a Will." Louise looked doubtfully at the parchment.

"It doesn't need to be long, and more likely than not, he's probably already lost everything to the rebels." I explained as I flexed my hand, churning the water. "You have to know that nearly every noble of Albion turned against him. No matter how well skilled or powerful he may be, there is no possible way for him to face his entire country nearly alone."

"From the sound of it though, he wants you to retrieve some vital items from him. Do you know what that's about?" Katra asked.

"No." I shook my head. "Wales was always very secretive whenever the subject of admiration came around. The most I can think of is that there's someone he doesn't want taking backlash from his inability to let her go. The rebels would more than likely kill her too for being with him."

"That's barbaric!" Louise spat in disgust. "Just because Wales loves someone, she has to suffer for it?"

"They wouldn't want a maître maker." Katra sighed. "If there is absolutely no one left to sympathize with the losing side, then there is no one to incite a rebellion against the rebels."

"Wales knows he's not going to live, he doesn't want others to go down with him."

"But, there is one thing that puzzles me in the letter." Katra said. "Where does he want you to meet him exactly? If he's been so secretive, why would he plan a wedding site with you?"

That made Louise snicker, making Katra and I look at her. She straightened up immediately. "I'm sorry, but the thought of Saito making wedding plans with a prince is just inherently funny to me."

That made Katra chuckle as well. "You're right, the thought of Wales and Saito planning such an event does seem unorthodox."

"Well I'm glad to see you two can have some fun." I said dourly. "But the fact is we never talked of anything like that. Which just perplexes me further."

"That is a problem." Katra muttered as she put her hands under her chin in thought. "Maybe it's a code?"

"Not one I'm familiar with." I sighed. "But the fact remains that I have to go see him, even if it is for the last time."

"You mean we, right?" Louise chipped in.

I just sighed in exhaustion. "I don't know. You've been through a lot lately, and-"

"And so have you." Louise interjected. "If I can list what you've done since I've been here, you've exposed two nobles for the greedy men they were, you caught a thief that was far more skilled than you, and you just settled discretions with a water spirit. You've done a lot Saito, and I'm not going to sit back while you do more."

"My, that is quite the list of accomplishments. It would be a shame to miss out on more."

I turned around to find Kirche leaning against the side of the entrance.

"Can I help you Miss Zerbst?" Katra asked. "If there isn't, I would ask you to leave, this is a bit of a private matter."

"I do have a matter to discuss, one dealing with Tabitha and Saito." Kirche looked down at me. Unlike before, these weren't the eyes of passion, but eyes with an agenda. I just sighed in dejection.

"Kirche, now isn't the time, really." Louise said pleadingly.

"I think now is the perfect time, seeing as you're about to go off on yet another crazy venture. To Albion no less." The mention of Albion made me snap to attention, and Kirche took notice. "There is much more at risk than just the one country. Right now, there are a lot of whispers amongst Albion, Tristain, Gallia, and Germania. Not all of them are very pleasant to hear. And if what I've heard is true, then the ruling parties as we know them may just come crumbling down around our ears."


	32. Hard Decisions

**Hard Decisions:**

"What do you mean Kirche?" I asked.

"I mean that if things keep up the way they are now, then all of the structure of four countries will be gone."

"And how do you know this exactly Miss Zerbst?" Katra asked. "If it has to deal with the royalty of our country, I would like to know where you got this information."

"Well, it doesn't in as much have to do with _your_ country, but more of your surrounding neighbors." Kirche shrugged. "Germania is well aware of the plight in Albion, and it's how effectively that they're winning that's becoming a concern."

"How can a winning streak be a concern?" Louise asked. "Didn't, like, the entire country turn against the prince? A quick win wouldn't be all that surprising."

"That's just the thing." Kirche shook her head. "Why would an entire nation turn against their monarch? It's not like he was doing a bad job, but the insatiable hunger for power those nobles have has scared Germania just as much as Tristain, so a political marriage has been called."

"What!" I exclaimed in shock. There was only one way a political marriage in Tristain would matter right now, and I didn't like that implication.

"Saito, calm down." Katra said soothingly. "You know that she would probably have had to have done this at some point."

"It doesn't mean I have to like it." I grumbled.

"Well then, we're in agreement it seems." Kirche smiled.

"What do you mean?" I looked at Kirche with a cautious eye.

"To say nothing against Henrietta or Tristain, but Henrietta just doesn't hold the kind of standards Germanians like, but personal and professional opinions are colliding. But it is ultimately up to the ruling family." Kirche sighed. "Preferably, it is wished by many for the marriage not to happen."

"So what do we have to do to stop it?" I asked, all to ready to keep Henrietta out of such a decision so early in life.

"We quell or stop the Albion rebellion." Kirche smiled. But this was defiantly one of her false smiles, one to win men over for what she wanted. But her words took all of the wind out of my sails and I just slumped back down.

"How can you propose such a thing?" Katra rebutted in my place. "Such a thing is not possible. The Albion nobles want Wales's blood, and they're not going to stop until they get it. Sending in our own army against Albion would be suicide and welcome a war to our fronts, it's just not conceivably possible."

"I'm a bit confused though." Louise finally spoke up. "If this concerns four countries, why are we only talking about three?"

It was a legitimate question; we had only spoken of Albion, Tristain, and Germania. I turned back to Kirche with renewed determination. "Where does Gallia come into this?"

"I was wondering when you would catch onto that." Kirche smirked. "Well, while you two were away for a week, Tabitha decided to take a trip home, and I just couldn't let my best friend go alone." Kirche batted her eyes, and Louise and I sighed in annoyance in tandem. "Fine, don't appreciate our glorious friendship." Kirche huffed. "But an interesting little fact I learned while we were visiting was Tabitha is actually a princess."

"You're kidding." Louise deadpanned.

"Dead serious, I got it straight from the butler's mouth." Kirche put a hand over her heart.

"All right, so say Tabitha's a princess, what does it mean to the situation right now?" I asked skeptically. I highly doubted that a silent and reclusive girl like Tabitha could be a princess, especially if she was being ordered by the king of Gallia to go on missions. No father I know would do that to his daughter.

"The fact of the matter is, is that Gallia is subtly split down the middle right now. The current king is Tabitha's uncle, but Tabitha's father was thought to be more suited for the crown, and there was a civil war over who should be king."

"That just sounds ridiculous. What were the candidates thoughts?" Louise asked.

"Tabitha's father was perfectly fine with the choice, but no matter what he said, there was still a war until one of the two brothers was murdered."

"That just seems self destructive." Louise said, slightly confused by the story.

"Which it is." Kirche nodded. "But let it never be said a Gallian is weak willed. Once they have a thought in their heads, it takes immense effort to make them change."

"All right, but what does this have to do with Albion?" I asked, tired of the roundabout explanation.

"The problem is, is that the side wanting Tabitha's line on the throne sees Albion's plight as a tool to get Tabitha on the throne. With a bit more 'information gathering', I found that there's a plan to kidnap the prince to incite war on Gallia."

"That's insane!" Katra proclaimed. "That would be needless bloodshed for a pointless cause."

"Not to them it isn't." Kirche sighed. "So as you can see, this rebellion is just the start of a cataclysm, and needs to be resolved before it results in total chaos."

"So to get this all straight, you want us to quell a full on rebellion of a different country to prevent a marriage between Tristain and Germania, as well as stopping any plans of using a continuation of the war to usurp the Gallian throne." I surmised. "Sad to say Kirche, but any way you cut that, it just doesn't seem possible."

"But don't you see? With who we have right here, it is completely possible." Kirche waved.

"I just don't see it." I shook my head. Kirche just sighed in annoyance.

"Honestly. Look, you can teleport and Louise can blow things up. It would be as simple as throwing a dust cloud up and getting the prince out of there, simple as that."

"I don't know, that plan is a bit vague." I said hesitantly. I was all for saving Wales, but there were so many variables that could go wrong. Would the rebels look for a body? Would be there in time to save him? Could we get away with him? And most importantly, would Wales come with us?

"I can't say I can condone that mission either, and not just because you're children." Katra said. "Saito is already risking enough to go and see Wales for a final time, and I'm sorry for Tabitha and her country, but I must think of Tristain first. There would also be the problem of convincing the rebels that Wales was truly dead, we wouldn't have a body to convince them with that he was dead." I saw Katra's eyes flick toward Louise for a brief second, and I knew she also had an objection to Louise using magic in the first place.

"We can work on details on our way there." Kirche shrugged.

"'We'?" I raised an eyebrow. "What makes you think you would be coming with me?"

"Because, whether you like it or not, I'm coming with you." Kirche crossed her arms defiantly.

"What if we leave without you?" Louise asked.

"Then I'm just going to stick to your sides from now on, and you can't put this off forever." Kirche gave another smile, and this one _was_ of lust, though I think it was only to tick Louise off. And it worked perfectly.

"Fine." Louise huffed.

"Not fine." I countered. "You forget this was a personal request from Wales, and I don't think he would think to highly of me toting two women along with me for a joy ride."

"But I'm your familiar." Louise defended. "And I'm not going to let you die in some random cross-fire in a different country."

"And you can't stop me." Kirche smiled.

I just looked between the women, both of which were staring at me intently. I looked to Katra for some help, but she was just looking at me in pity, like she knew what kind of trouble I was in. I just sighed and lowered my head in defeat. "All right fine, we'll all make our way to Albion." I turned to face Kirche. "But we only go through with a rescue plan if Wales agrees to it, deal?"

"Deal." Kirche nodded. "Not that I see a reason why he wouldn't want to." Kirche shrugged as she turned to leave. "We should get there as soon as possible, I propose an early morning departure so that other's won't follow." With her final word said, she left, and I sighed in defeat.

"I'm such a pushover." I groaned.

"Don't feel so bad Saito." Katra tried to comfort me. "You're just surrounded by strong women."

"And sometimes I wonder whose fault that is." I gave a small smile to Katra.

"Whatever do you mean?" Katra looked away innocently. "By the way, your hand should be done healing by now."

I took my hand out and inspected it, not finding the slightest indication that there had been any damage beforehand. I gave it one more flexing before handing the basin back to Katra. "So I guess this means we leave in the morning Louise."

"Yep." She sighed. "And we had just gotten back too."

"Where did you two head off to anyways?" Katra asked as she poured the water down the sink and put the basin away. "And by any chance did it happen to involve some of your classmates?"

I didn't know how to answer for a second, but Louise jumped to the rescue. "Saito had gotten a letter from Henrietta via Wardes to see to a lake spirit, and Guiche and Montmorency volunteered to help."

"Uh huh, help. Wait, Wardes? As in the Viscount?" Katra questioned after a second of thought. "How has he been? I haven't seen him around for a while now."

"He seemed fine when he delivered the letter." I said, taking the reigns from Louise. "He doesn't seem to be any worse for wear, though his beard has started to go grey."

"Figures as much." Katra sighed. "He really should start looking to be in a less active squad, he really isn't in any condition to lead such a rigorous group."

"Is he really that old?" Louise asked.

"No, he's only twenty-six or so, but he's put on so much strain from his time with the Griffin Knights that some long time rest should be required." Katra said.

"Really? He seemed eager and willing enough to search the forest after he heard of a disturbance." I said.

"When did you hear of this?" Louise asked. "We've only met him the once." Then my slip clicked with her. "You saw him at the lake didn't you?" There was no use in hiding it.

"Yeah, I met him at the lake when Illococoo and I went looking for our wands." I admitted.

"Who is Illococoo?" Katra asked.

"She's Tabitha's sister." Louise said as a side note as she kept her focus on me. "And he handed you Wales's letter, didn't he?"

"Where did that come from?"

"Did he or didn't he?" Louise pressed, ignoring my question.

"So what if he did?" I snapped a little.

"Nothing." Louise sat back. "It doesn't mean anything."

There was an uncomfortable silence that lingered in the room. Louise didn't seem like taking her train of thought anywhere and Katra didn't seem to have anything to add, so I was left to my own thoughts. And I didn't particularly like where mine led me.

Was Wardes really that off putting to Louse? I know he hadn't made all that good of a first impression, but it was no reason to judge the man. I know she didn't like him at that time either, but this type of hostility made no sense to me at all. My thoughts were interrupted when Louise finally spoke again.

"Do you think that we would be doing the right thing by saving Wales?"

"Of course it would." I replied immediately. "Saving him would be best so that he could retake the throne when the rebellions leadership fails."

"I don't think that's exactly what she meant Saito." Katra said. "She asked if it's right, not for any personal reason, but would taking Wales away from the battle be the right thing to do."

That gave me pause, turning in on myself once more. Was it right? He was only asking us to save one woman, none of his soldiers and not himself. What would it do to him? Would he feel guilty for living, when he left everyone else to die? This mission was becoming more and more complicated the more I thought about it.

"I don't know, I really don't." I looked down. "I don't want to let Wales die, and I feel like we could save him, and not doing so would burden me greatly. But saving him, making him leave his country for our sakes, would only burden him more." I gripped my head between my hands. "I don't know what to do."

"You can't always have the answers Saito." Katra said sympathetically as she placed a hand on my shoulder. "Sometimes, you just have to let the problem fall where it is and pick up the pieces. I can't personally teach every student here, and I can't heal every wound and save every life, but what I can do, I make sure is done well. Understand?"

"I think so." I sighed as I let my arms fall and stood up. "We're just going to have to do what we can, when we can." I lent a hand to Louise, who smiled as she accepted and stood up.

"Finally accepting I'm going with you?"

"Could I stop you if I kept saying no?"

"Nope." She beamed.

"Well if that's going to be it for here, I suggest you two tidy yourselves up, especially you Saito. You look like you were sitting in dirt for hours."

I just chuckled and left, not saying anything on whether or not she was right. But as I got to the door, I turned back. "I'll see you soon Katra."

"And maybe for longer than a stay in the nursing room perhaps?" She smiled.

"Sure." And with a wave, Louise and I headed back to our room. But nearly as soon as we got there, Louise grabbed another set of clothes and headed back out.

"Where do you think you're going?"

"I don't know about you, but I'm not waiting until tonight to wash up. And you better do the same thing before tonight, or I will make you sleep outside."

"And when did you become the master around here?"

"The second I started regretting my sense of smell." Louise said quickly as she closed the door. I took one tentative smell and immediately regretted it. Louise was right to not wait, I guess a full day and constant riding in one set of clothes wasn't a good thing. I would have to be more considerate in our packing for our next trip. We would probably have to borrow a horse for Louise then.

I followed Louise's example and grabbed a set of clothes for myself and headed out for the men's bath. The best part about doing it now was that I knew that no body else would be down there to bother me, so I could relax in peace.

Exceptionally better than the Fairy Mansion's bath, which consisted of a single tub that took forever to heat, the school's bath's were artificial hot springs tended to by the line classes for water and fire magic's, keeping the temperature to a tolerable degree. In the changing room before hand, I gathered up a supply of soaps and a bucket to hold them and changed into the standard towel.

When I entered however, I was both disappointed and a bit baffled at the sight of someone else already relaxing in the pool. Upon closer examination, however, I found Guiche wallowing in the water.

"Hey Guiche, wasn't expecting you here." I called, making him jump in surprise and turn around.

"Oh, it's only you." He sighed in relief, which kind of puzzled me.

"What's up to make you so jumpy?" I asked as I went to the bench for initial rinsing.

"It's horrible." Guiche bemoaned. "I promise never to taunt you again."

His announcement made me both concerned and happy, but more concerned overall. "What happened to you for this sudden change of heart?"

"It was horrible Saito, I couldn't go more than five minutes without someone whispering or a woman running in terror." I think I knew what he was getting at now. "Everyone thinks I'm engaged to Montmorency now!" That statement made the soap slip right out of my hand.

"What?" I asked in amazement as I turned to face him.

"I know, it's preposterous, but everyone keeps telling of how I rode off after Louise only to hide the fact that I was looking to Montmorency's parents for permission for marriage."

"I-I don't know what to say Guiche." I stammered. I was seriously perplexed by how in the world such an outrageous rumor could start from how we left. "But isn't that better than everyone thinking you're a womanizer?"

"It's worse! I could eventually kill that rumor, but engagement! I would need Montmorency to decline the intentions, but she won't say a word against it, and I can't ask her to either."

"Well, maybe it's a good thing." I said as I got in the water across from Guiche. "I mean, I have seen you around with her the most."

"But it's the position Saito." Guiche insisted. "As a single man, I could be adored by all woman kind, but now? I'm off the market, I'm taken, someone else's toy. I can never be adored again."

"Oh come off it Guiche, you're thinking too critically." I scorned the prideful man. "You may not be able to physically interact with women anymore without some sort of doubt, but that doesn't mean women will stop pining after you."

"You think?" Guiche looked up hopefully.

"I'm sure of it." I comforted him. "Don't let one commitment keep you from who you are."

"Thanks Saito." Guiche sighed as he leaned back in the water.

"Any time Guiche." I smiled and shook my head slightly. "Any time."


	33. An Alternate

**An Alternate Backstory:**

One, thankfully quiet, soak later, I left the bath and changed into the clean pair of clothes I had brought with me. I headed back to the room and deposited the dirty clothes in the basket. I then set about trying to find the right balance of clothes and equipment for the mission Louise and I were about to go on.

"Well at least someone is back now." I heard Derf complain. I stood up and looked around to find him leaning against the bed. "Surprised to see me?"

"A bit, yeah." I admitted. "How did you get up here?"

"You would be surprised how effective a complaining sword can be." Derf chuckled. "That maid friend of yours found me in the stables and brought me up here."

"Probably to keep you from disturbing the horses."

"I wouldn't have to disturb the horses if you two would stop leaving me every which where." Derf seemed to huff in annoyment. "Honestly, it's like you two don't even appreciate me."

"Sorry about that, we've just been a bit busy lately."

"Her more than you apparently."

"What do you mean?" I asked, genuinely curios by what he meant.

"I mean she has way more going on in her head than you do."

"And what do you mean by _that_?" I fumed; he was dancing around the issue, and seeming to insult me in the process.

"She was practically arguing with herself the entire trip back." Derf sighed. "Honestly, you should have heard her. 'What if he-' 'No he wouldn't-' 'But her-' 'He's not like that.' it was like listening to two people with only half of the conversation."

"Really?" I looked down at the sword.

"Yeah, really. What? Don't believe me? I can go on."

"No, no, that's enough." I waved at the sword to stop. I sat on the bed and held my head in my hands. What Derf just said made me remember my suspicions that Louise had split personalities. But if that were the case, which Louise did I know? Was one really made by an overflow of magic, or was she just like that? And what of that time when we went to go get the Staff of Destruction?

Wait, didn't something happen then? I tried to remember, the most prominent thing being the slap to the face, but something more happened. Not the stupid dog scolding, not the demands, but her stumble! There was no reason for it, so why did she? It was after that that she started acting weird, but near the end, she was normal again, so what made her do all of that? The more I tried to think of a reason for her personality change, the more confused I became.

I was distracted by a knock at the door. I just sighed in annoyance and looked up. "It's open." I called.

"Saito?" I heard Louise ask from the other side. "So you're in there?"

"Yeah Louise, come on it." I sighed. My thoughts would just have to wait.

"Well, before I do, I just have to make sure you won't freak out." Louise said nervously.

"Why?" I asked, a bit confused why now, of all times, she would be shy. "Just come in already."

"All right." Louise sighed as she opened the door. I immediately saw why she was so concerned, and I had to admit it made me jump in surprise.

Louise's hair had gone from pink to a dark blond. She closed the door behind her and leaned against the door, looking down.

"W-What happened?" I asked after a second of shocked silence.

"W-Well, you know, pink isn't really a natural hair color." Louise murmured as she twisted a lock in her finger. "And I kind of wanted to stand out at home. So I dyed my hair, and it seems to have finally washed out."

"All right." I said hesitantly. "Well, I guess that's just going to be how it's going to be, but honestly? Why would you need to change the color of your hair in the first place?"

"I don't know, it seemed like a good idea at the time." Louise sighed. "Éléonore was getting on my back for poor choice in boys, and Cattleya seemed to be having the right luck, so I thought if I could be a bit like her- you know what? It's stupid, just let it drop."

"No, no, this sounds important, come on." I patted the bed next to me. Louise came over and sat on the bed, but she kept looking down. "So you tried to imitate one of your sisters?"

"Yeah." Louise grumbled. "It was all I could think of, Cattleya looked like she had everything going for her, she had a steady job and her students adored her, on a regular basis, and nothing seemed to ever go wrong for her. And the way Éléonore just kept scolding me every time I made a bad decision, I just thought being someone else was the best thing."

"And how long ago was that?" I asked without thinking. I snapped my mouth shut after that little comment, waiting for the emotional flood to come.

"That was about… two weeks before I got here?" Louise thought out loud as she looked up. "But you know, being here isn't all that bad."

"It isn't?" I asked, a bit dumbfounded by her reaction. "Even with the magic and backward society and the love potions and-"

"Stop right there before I change my mind." Louise put her hand over my mouth. The closeness of her skin gave me ample time to smell the strawberry scented soap she had used for her bath just previously. Her hand retracted quickly and I saw a pink flush come to her cheeks. "And, you know, meeting the people here hasn't been so bad. Montmorency is very nice to be around, and Kirche has her good points too, and even Tabitha can make the mood a bit nicer." Louise looked up at me and smiled. "I really don't mind having come here, danger and all."

Just the sight of her genuine smile seemed to make my heart stop for a second. My mind decided to abandon all thought and just enjoy the moment, so I didn't even notice when I took Louise's hand in my own. There was no resistance, not a word spoken, just the stillness of Louise and I sitting next to each other, staring into each other's eyes.

"So are you two actually going to do something or just sit there all night?" Derf broke the moment like a rock through a stained-glass window. Louise quickly withdrew her hand from mine and turned to face the sword.

"And when did you get here?" She asked, clearly disgruntled by the shatter as I was.

"I got here after you abandoned me in the stable. Really, you need to keep me closer to hand. What would happen if-"

"I would manage." Snapped Louise. "Honestly, i-it's bad enough for Saito to know of my time back home, I didn't need you hearing it too."

"Ah, come on, I don't think that's what you're upset over right now is-"

"It completely is!" Louise shoved Derf back into his sheath, effectively muffling him.

I cleared my throat. "Well, seeing as we're already skipping classes as it is, why don't we take a walk? It is quite lovely out right now." I suggested, trying to get over the break in mood myself.

"Can we leave _him_ here?" Louise asked, lifting Derf up slightly for emphasis.

"Sure." I smiled as I got up from the bed.

"Great!" Louise said happily as she tossed Derf onto the bed, allowing him to slide out of his sheathe.

"That's no way to treat a great sword like me!"

"Prove it first." Louise turned at the door, sticking her tongue out before heading into the hall.

"Watch out for that one man." Derf said with a word of warning. "She's a wild one."

"Don't I know it." I chuckled as I left the room and closed the door. I followed after Louise, who was now skipping down the hall and already heading down the next flight. I was a little less enthusiastic to follow, instead looking at my hand, the one that had just held Louise's. It had been so small and soft, yet seemed to have such a tight hold. I wonder how the rest-

I shook my head and gripped my hand into a fist. That was no way to think right now, but her acceptance of here could make it a possibility. I headed after Louise and ran into her outside the dorm entrance.

"What's taking you so long?" She asked with her hands on her hips.

"I was just thinking, maybe you could tell me more about your home." I partially lied. It wasn't what held me up, but I was curious. "So you wanted to be more like one of your sisters?"

"Yeah." Louise sighed with a small smile as she began to walk down the side of the school's wall. "She was a teacher at my school and had quiet the fashion sense, she had her hair dyed a shade of pink that made her the talk of the school for such a look."

"And your other sister? Éléonore wasn't it? What was she on about?"

"Yeah, her." Louise looked at the wall.

"You don't need to tell me if you don't want to."

"No, no, we're already on the subject, and I guess you should know anyways." Louise sighed. "For one, Éléonore is following up on my father's company, mostly handling the business side of most things. It's a fashion company, and one of France's best, so of course I would meet some of the country's best talent."

"Naturally." I nodded. It would be hard not to run into someone of a famous stature if your family holds the highest prestige in the area.

"Well, one of the designers caught my eye, and apparently, I caught his as well." Louise said timidly, lacing her fingers together.

"Oh." I said, with little else to give a different reaction. I think I knew where this was going now.

"His name was Willelm, and he was a designer for one of our best lines. We started talking after some shows, and soon enough we were seeing each other more and more." Louise gave a nervous laugh. "Now that I think about it, he reminds me a lot of Guiche. He hid it so well."

"Louise, you don't have to-" I began.

"No Saito, I need to get this off my chest." Louise looked up to me, tears beginning to form in the corners of her eyes.

"All right, but let's have a seat." I put a hand on her shoulder and lead her over to the empty outdoor eating area. Louise took the seat I offered her and I sat across from her. Right now would probably be as good as any for her to tell me her story while no one or thing was around to interrupt. "So what happened?"

"Willelm started coming by our house more and more, for designer help was the excuse, dad had a taste that was to be adhered to, but Willelm kept stopping by when dad wasn't home."

"Giving him a reason to stay in the house." I concluded.

"Yeah." Louise chuckled. "It was such a close call. The next I was going to see him, I was going to confess, even if there was a ten year difference." This was only a slight shock to me, there were plenty of gapping-age marriages, but hearing it from Louise was a bit jarring. "But one afternoon when walking from school, I happened to walk by a café with him and one our models in it. I didn't really think much of it, until they leaned in and k-k-kissed." Louise hid her face with her hair, but I could clearly make out the red flush in her face now.

I could think of the few times Guiche had been caught between two women he was courting. It was mostly awkward for him, and anger between the two girls until it was snapped on Guiche. But now that I thought about it, all Guiche ever really did was flirt with the girls, not actively partake with them. In that regard, these two situations seemed strikingly different.

"So what happened after that?" I asked softly as I could.

"I ran home as fast as I could." Louise said, still looking down. "And I cried in the living room. And when Willelm came by for his usual reason, I opened the door to yell at him, and then slammed it in his face." Louise laughed a bit. "It broke his nose."

"Sounds like he deserved it." I chuckled a bit.

"Éléonore didn't think so." Louise sighed. "Willelm said he wouldn't work for us any more, and she said it was my fault. She said that Willelm did have work with dad every time he came over, and that my actions had cost us a valuable talent."

"Didn't you tell her what happened?"

"I don't think it mattered. To her, it had been my fault and my decision to pursue Willelm, so it was my responsibility to know he was dating someone else."

"That doesn't sound to reasonable. Were you honestly supposed to stalk a man?"

"That's what I said!" Louise pound the table and looked up at me. "How was I supposed to know every little detail about his life? I couldn't ask half the question I had when he was around, and I was to embarrassed to talk to others about him." Louise looked down again and sighed. "It just wasn't fair."

I reached out and grabbed Louise's hand once again, this time in a conscious effort to comfort her. "So after that, you didn't want to be yourself any more."

"Yeah." Louise nodded before looking up at me with a sad smile. Tears were slowly making their way down her face. "Pathetic huh?"

"No, no…" I said as softly as I could. "It wasn't your fault. You didn't know how to handle the situation and acted on instinct. But hey, think of what you would've done if you had magic then?" I smiled. I got a genuine laugh out of Louise.

"I don't think my house would have a front door right now." Louise wiped her tears away with her free hand. "Thanks Saito, this meant a lot."

"It's what I'm here for." I squeezed Louise's hand. The same atmosphere from the room was about us again, and I drew in Louise's hand. "Louise, I just want you to know that-"

"Hey Saito!" I heard Guiche call out.

"Oh by the Founder!" I swore silently, letting go of Louise's hand. I looked up to glare at Guiche, but was surprised to see him and Montmorency walking up to us, holding hands no less.

"Perfect timing. You're one of the first people I wanted to see, but who's this?"

"Is your memory really that short?" Louise said as she turned to face Guiche.

"Louise?" Guiche said in a bit of shock. "That's a bit of a radical hair color change."

"It's my natural color, like it?" Louise said with a teasing smile. I don't know how she could put a face like that on after what she just said, but I could understand a mask when I saw one.

"Well, it sure is different-oof!" Guiche grunted as Montmorency elbowed him in the side. "What?"

"Oh, nothing." Montmorency looked away innocently.

"Well, it's perfect to see both of you." Guiche said, turning his attention back to us. "I wanted you two to be the first to officially know that Montmorency and I are engaged."

"Really?" Louise and I had the same tone of disbelief.

"If you can't beat them, join them." Guiche shrugged, earning another elbow from Montmorency.

"Beat what?" Louise asked, genuinely curious.

"You don't want to know." I whispered to Louise. "So, congratulations are in order you two." I said a loud to the other two.

"Thank you." Montmorency smiled. "And I have to say Louise, that color suits you."

"Really? It never really stood out at home." Louise twisted a lock in-between her fingers.

"But it is a marvelous color. It has a nice subtlety about it, something _some_ people should learn." She smiled as Guiche winced. I was starting to feel sorry for the guy. It was also at that time that my stomach decided to growl in protest.

"Well, it seems someone's impatient." Guiche chuckled.

"Hey, I haven't eaten since yesterday okay? And that was a pretty meager meal at that." I complained.

"Be grateful you got that much." Guiche shot. "Do you know how much trouble it was getting that deer?"

"Whatever." I said with discontent as I stood up. "I need a good meal here and now. Let's go see if the dinning hall is set up yet."

"I doubt it." Louise said as she stood. "But I'm sure the chefs wouldn't let one of their students go hungry now, would they?" She smiled. She was right, if the dinning hall wasn't up yet, we could always visit Chef for a snack to tide me over.

So the four of us headed to the dinning hall, one looking for food, one still fussing with her hair, and the other two seeming to silently bicker over the right approach to telling everyone properly. It felt like a normal school day for once, but it was only going to be for the day. Starting tomorrow, I was off to save one of my friends from himself.


	34. Long Road

**The Beginning of a Long Road:**

As we entered the dining hall, we found that the staff was still setting up the dining ware, but our usual spot was already set, so we decided to sit and chat for a bit. Montmorency and Louise discussed hair products from Louise's home, and I had a private chat with Guiche over his submitment. Apparently he had completely forgotten that he had admitted to loving Montmorency in the past, which I thought to be completely ridiculous, and had continued in his ways. And only after a very emotionally charged berating from Montmorency, did he remember. I shook my head as I sat back, looking around to see if any servant was free to take an order.

I noticed a maid who had just finished laying plates across from us, so I waved her over. She seemed a bit nervous and looked around before coming over. "I-Is there something I can help you with, sir?"

"Yes, I was wondering if we could get a few sandwiches and a round of water here?" I asked.

"I'm not sure, I just lay the dinnerware, I don't actually work in the kitchens." The maid fiddled with her skirt. I could see why she was nervous, not being able to do what was asked of a noble was a bit of an offence, but Louise helped her a bit.

"Then is there some else who could help us?" Louise smiled.

"Y-Yes, I'm sure I can find someone who can." The maid smiled before quickly heading off. Not to long later, a man came over and gave a stiff bow. "I heard you would like a round of appetizers?"

"If it wouldn't be to much." I nodded in affirmation.

"Of course not. Nothing's ever too much for the nobles. I'll be back in a minute." The waiter bowed again and left. I don't know why, but the way he addressed us was just a tad standoffish, and I said so to the others.

"I'm sure he just doesn't like the extra work." Guiche said dismissively. "I mean, I wouldn't want someone to come around saying I had extra work."

"Then again, what work do you have to do in the first place?" I smirked. "I mean, we haven't been to classes in days, and I haven't seen any of us actually work on our spells on our little trip."

"Yeah, that's going to be a pain to deal with." Montmorency sighed. "And most of the work I have is line level fire magic. I'm a water mage for Founder's sake! When am I going to need fire magic?"

"You can always study with me, dear." Guiche said a sickeningly sweet as he could, taking her hand in his and giving her his best longing eyes. I couldn't bear it for more than a second before having to look away.

"I would trust Kirche with that kind of magic far before Guiche, Montmorency." Louise said, thankfully making Guiche throw a quick glare before shirking away from Louise's returning stare.

"True, but I haven't talked to her for a bit, and I don't know what her own work is like right now."

"Actually, we ran into her before coming here." I said. "I think she's going to have to leave the school for the next week or so to go back to Germania."

"Really?" Montmorency looked a bit concerned. "She never goes home unless it's break. I wonder what's making her go back now of all times."

"Family matters probably." Louise offered, probably only now remembering that Kirche was coming with us on our little mission. "If life here is anything like where I'm from, emergencies do happen. Although hearing about news here does seem to take a lot of time."

"And what about news where you're from, hm?" Guiche asked. "Is there a faster way than how we do it?"

"Well, for one we have T.V., and the internet, and phones, and-"

"Wait, wait, wait, what is any of that?" I asked. They were all such strange words; I began to think that she started speaking French again.

"Well, I don't know how to quiet explain all of it. But they are defiantly faster than mail."

"I'd like to see that." Guiche scoffed as he sat back. "But for now, we have a snack."

I looked over to where Guiche was, and our server was carrying two trays; one laden with wedge sandwiches and the other with glasses of water. He set the sandwich platter in the middle of the table and proceeded to hand out the glasses.

"For an appetizer, the chefs have shaved some slices of the ham for tonight with a thin cheddar and lettuce pieces. If there is anything else, just let me know." The server bowed in his stiff manner again. I thought I saw a smile on his face, but as he stood up his face was completely placid. He turned and left with the platter the water was on, and I took a sandwich from the platter.

The food satisfied my protesting stomach and the water had a nice lemon aftertaste to it, which was nice of the waiter or chefs to consider. Some of the servants may consider most nobles to be horrendous brats, but they did know what they were doing to keep them off of their backs.

As the evening continued on and other students made their way in for dinner, Kirche and Tabitha found their way to us, and Kirche eagerly questioned Guiche and Montmorency on whether or not the rumors that they had kid hidden in one of their families that they had gone to check on while putting on an act that Guiche was courting Louise to throw suspicion off of himself. One could say that our small departure had left a wildfire at the school.

Guiche and Montmorency were quick to deny most of everything Kirche said, but did confirm an engagement, which made Kirche immediately go off to tell everyone else. At least it would kill some of the rumor, and probably spark even more. It kind of made me wonder what would be the reaction by the school if Louise or I started seeing someone. I was certainly not the most sought after, and Louise was a familiar, I'm sure some whispers would go up, but that was just another part of being a noble, something was always being said about another.

After that event filled evening of gossip and rumors, Louise and I had had plenty of enough conversation to be ready to head to bed. Guiche and Montmorency waved, Tabitha gave an acknowledging nod, but Kirche saw us leaving and ran over to me, leaning dangerously close to my ear.

"Tomorrow at seven, main gate. I don't want _this_ to be happening to me." Kirche said quickly before hugging Louise "I love what you did with your hair, you're going to have to tell me what you did on the trip." With that, Kirche quickly went back to the rest of the students.

"I know she said something to you, so what was it?" Louise said as she looked at me expectantly.

"Just to be at the main gate at seven."

"Ugh, I don't want to be up that early." Louise sighed in disapproval.

"Do want the same rumors about Guiche and Montmorency going around about us when we get back?"

"Not really." Louise grumbled.

"Then we need to get up by six to be ready to leave."

"Ugh." Louise sighed again. We walked in silence for a bit as we arrived to the bottom of the dorm.

"So, do you feel better now?" I asked out of nowhere. I don't even know why I asked, but it just seemed right to.

"I guess." Louise looked up. "It was something that needed to be said." With that, she walked into the tower. It seemed a bit of an emotionless response, but if she wanted to drop it, I would let her. It was something that wasn't pleasant to reminisce on, and I knew from my experience with Shin that passive silence wasn't a way to deal with sibling problems.

Those problems, however, were quickly overshadowed in my mind as we entered back into the room. We might have been through a lot in the recent days, but it was still something to be addressed. Louise had placed Derf against the bed and headed over to the curtains to close them as I closed the door behind us, locking it. And there I stood, quickly turning to face the door as I noticed Louise begin to change.

"Um, Louise?" I asked hesitantly.

"Yeah Saito?"

"I know this might not be something you want top think about. But, um, should I take the cot again?" I asked, still facing the door.

There was a long pause, but eventually Louise answered. "I don't think you have to. If you want, that's fine, but I think I kind of did overreact before." I turned to see Louise was already under the covers of the bed, but sitting up and lacing and unlacing her fingers.

"That's a bit of a, um, uh, unclear answer." I stammered.

"I'm saying I'm not _opposed_ to the idea. But if it makes you uncomfortable, I can understand you taking the cot again. But the night air is getting a bit chilly." Louise said with a strong hint that I hoped to the Founder I was reading right.

"Well, we _are_ waking up pretty early in the morning. I guess taking the bed would be an easier option in waking you up in time." I excused myself.

"I guess that makes sense." Louise admitted.

"So then."

"So."

There was an awkward silence in the room before I made my way to changing for the night as well. I turned off the lamp and got in the bed. I turned over to Derf for a brief moment. "Could you help wake us up at six?"

"How am I supposed to know the time?"

"I dunno, just when the room starts getting brighter I guess?"

"Sure."

"Thanks Derf." I said shortly as I situated myself in the bed. "Night Louise." I said just as briefly. This was already a tenuous as it could get, going on much longer wasn't going to help.

"Good night Saito." Louise said quietly. And with that, I drifted off to a comfortable, if not awkward sleep.

…

And just as Derf had promised, he woke us up.

Well, me at least.

"Hey! Time to get up!" Derf yelled, making me jerk awake. "It's getting brighter like you said!"

"Yeah, yeah, I hear you. Not shut it before you wake up the floor." I growled. I tried sitting up, but found that Louise had clung to my side once again in the night, just as I had predicted. "Hey Louise, we need to get going." I shook Louise a little.

"Mmm, five more minutes Saito, let Siesta handle breakfast." Louise grumbled.

"Siesta's not our personal maid Louise, now come on." I shook her a bit more, but her mention about breakfast did get me thinking about what we were actually going to be eating on the way. I sighed as I carefully extracted myself from Louise and got changed for the day. I didn't really want to forage like we had done before, but I also didn't want to spend a lot of money on the trip. That being said, I needed to pack the horse before we left.

"Hey Derf, can you try waking Louise up in a bit?"

"I dunno, I don't want to be waking up the whole floor." Derf said sarcastically.

"You don't need to yell at her, but, I don't know, get her angry enough to make you shut up."

"I don't feel like getting man-handled by that girl though." Derf said apprehensively.

"Come on Derf. Please?" I pleaded.

"I guess." If Derf had eyes, I think he would have rolled them.

"Thanks." I put my hands together and bowed slightly before heading down to the stables. As I got there, however, I found someone I was not expecting to meet. "Siesta?"

She jumped and turned; breathing a sigh of relief as she saw it was me. "Saito, don't scare me like that."

"I wouldn't if I knew why you here so early in the morning."

"Well, Mrs. Zerbst said yesterday that you and Louise would need your horse prepped for today, so I was making sure everything was ready and that the horse was in good condition. You have been going out on it a lot recently."

"I have a lot to do recently." I said as I inspected the saddle and bags. "You seem to have done a rather impressive job here. Do you work everywhere around here?"

"Oh, no, it's just that where I come from is rather secluded, so horse travel's pretty necessary. Beside's, the school trains these horses so well." Siesta said as she stroked the horse's mane. "I don't know how many wild one's I came across before coming here."

"And why is that?"

"Hm? Why is what?"

"Why are you here at the school? You seem well versed in many things, I'm sure coming to the Academy wasn't really necessary."

"It was, actually." Siesta smiled sadly as she looked at the horse. "I have seven younger siblings back home, and none of the jobs I was qualified for there would pay enough to support them. But here, I don't have to pay for my basic needs, and the pay is good enough to send home."

"Heh, I guess we all have a family to deal with." I said as I double-checked the bags for cooking supplies and clothes. "But, you're the oldest huh, I didn't know that. It's pretty neat actually."

"R-Really? It's nothing special really." Siesta said as she made her way to the other side of the horse.

"I'm the youngest in my family, and apparently so is Louise, and so is Guiche if I think about it. This is actually the first time I've really gotten to know an older sibling my age I think. So, seven siblings, huh? Must be hectic when you visit."

"You have no idea." Siesta giggled. "They never get to leave the town, so whenever I visit, they're always expecting grand stories of my time at the Academy."

"Well, I'm sure you'll have some stories to tell the next time you go back." There was a long silence of no reply. "Siesta?"

"I'm sure there will be." I heard a note of sadness in her voice. "I don't go back that often, usually I work at my Uncle's place over the summer."

"Oh." I looked at the bag I had just fashioned shut. I had to remind myself that peasants didn't have as much luxury as I did when it came to down time. Sure, I would make myself busy, but I didn't need to be. And even if I didn't quite want to see Shin, I did feel a twinge of empathy with not being able to see your family all that often. "You know, I'm interested now." I said to distract me from my own thoughts.

"Interested in what?" Siesta asked as she came around the horse.

"Meeting your family, it sounds interesting enough. And I'm sure Louise would want to see somewhere outside of school just for fun."

"I-I'm not so sure." Siesta looked away. "You don't need to make any special trip to meet them. I mean, surely you're busy during the break, and-"

"Not really, I just find busy work for myself anyways. A relaxing trip would do wonders anyhow. So, where is it?"

"Well, l-like I said, it's a bit out of the way. It's near the eastern mountains, but you really don't need to."

"The more you say no, the more intrigued I am." I smiled. "Come on, it can't be all that bad. You came from there after all." Siesta just bunched up her skirt and looked down, but I could defiantly see her face turning red.

"I'm sure the horse is ready for travel. Have a safe trip Mr. Hiraga." Siesta said quickly before making a hasty retreat. She bumped past Louise as she came in with Derf slung across her back. Siesta bowed quickly and kept going.

"What was that about?" Louise asked as she came over to me. "Saito? Hello?" Louise waved a hand in front of my face.

"Huh? Sorry, just making plans for summer." I said quickly. In all honestly, I had found it rather cute how flustered Siesta had become over mentioning visiting her home.

"Well stop planning so far ahead. If I want to nap on the way, we better meet Kirche out there soon." Louise said as she took the reigns of the horse and led it out of the stable. I don't know if it was because of the early time or something else, but Louise seemed a bit peevish at the moment. I followed after her and met up at the gate, waiting for Kirche to show up. A few minutes later, Kirche came up to us on a jet-black stallion with a small cart being pulled behind it. When I looked inside, I saw that Flame was resting in it.

"It's good to see both of you can wake up this early. Now, let's get moving." Kirche said without a second's hesitation.

"Are you sure that's the best place to keep Flame?" I asked. It didn't seem like such a good idea to keep a salamander directly behind a horse.

"Kräftig is more than capable of pulling Flame along." Kirche said confidently as she patted the horse.

"That wasn't the question, I asked if it's a good idea to keep Flame behind your horse."

"Where else would I keep him? It's not like I can let him ride with me, and he isn't fast enough to keep up with a galloping horse."

"Um, Saito, Kirche?" Louise pulled on my sleeve. "What is that?" I looked to where she was pointing, and I squinted to see a rather familiar shape coming down from the sky.

"Oh come on." I groaned.

"Did you tell anyone else about this?" Kirche asked.

"No, but I think I know who did." I sighed.

A griffin landed just ahead of us, and riding upon it's back was Shin.


	35. First Night

**The First Night of Camp:**

Kirche, Louise, and I watched in silence as Shin got off of his familiar and came over to us, stopping only a few feet away. There was a stiff silence for a brief second before I began what was probably going to end badly for everyone.

"What are you doing here Shin?"

"You know very well why I'm here Saito. This is a dangerous mission and the three of you are not going to be enough to do it."

"So you decided to help? I don't know if you know this Shin, but you're pretty famous. I don't think you traveling to Albion will go unnoticed."

"I don't know if _you_ know this, but you're pretty famous yourself little brother." Shin said with his infuriatingly flat voice. And I would have been aggravated by his flat tone, if it weren't for what he actually said.

"What do you mean?"

"You've been able to make your own name with the stunts you've pulled recently." Shin crossed his arms. "You're name is coming up a lot in corruption cases these days, mainly as quote of inspiration of what's been happening. Not to mention the fact of helping reclaim a submerged village."

"Well, I didn't know I was doing _that_ much." I laughed nervously.

"And it's not confined to our court either. Gallia's representative wanted to actually bring you before their king for a formal appreciation."

"Really?" I was surprised that Galia would recognize me over Tabitha.

"Really, you're becoming a symbol for the common man Saito, and it's going to get you _killed_." Shin said forcefully, making me stop basking in the glory and come back down to the problem.

"How in the world would that get me killed?"

"I have to admit, I don't see the connection." Louise spoke up. Shin gave her a quick glance before focusing back on me.

"Right now, you're a symbol of common power, and right now you're at school, safe from the public eye. But you're not safe from an investigative one. The rebellion in Albion keep tabs on all other nations right now, looking to cease power elsewhere, and they know your connection with Wales. If they see you coming anywhere near an airship, they will kill you."

"I still don't see how." Louise crossed her arms and tapped her foot. Shin gave an irritated sigh, but Kirche explained for him.

"The rebellion's main forces are the commoners of Albion. If the rebels were to see a symbol of commoner power on Wale's side, it would break what tedious hold the revolutionaries have right now. That's why Saito would be a target." Kirche looked at Shin. "But what I don't understand is how you're going to help that situation or how you even knew about our little outing."

"It's because I told him about it." Louise and I turned to see Katra walking up from the main gate. I sighed in defeat, my guess had been right.

"What?" Louise looked back and forth between Katra and Shin, confused. "But how? How could you call Shin? We just came up with this plan yesterday, how would you even contact him with a time?"

"You forget Louise, I'm a very adept mage." Katra smiled. "As for timing, I just took Kirche into account. Seeing as how Saito's latest trip caused such an uproar, she would want to leave as soon as it was light enough to see the road. Simple as that."

"All right, you used me, but that still doesn't answer my first question. How is having two easily recognizable figures going to get anywhere near Albion now?" Kirche asked.

"Three actually. But it's simple really, and I have our school's newest couple to thank for the idea." Katra kept on smiling, but I knew this was the smile of a well laid out plan. "We're sending you home Kirche, with a marriage proposal from Saito."

"What!?" Louise, Kirche, and I shouted simultaneously.

"Shh! Not so loud." Katra put a finger up to silence us.

"I don't know if you know this, but there are reason's why I'm not in Germania right now. Even mentioning this could spark a wildfire of rumors." Kirche rambled, and the idea I think Katra had struck me.

"And which would be more plausible with this sort of set up, rescuing a prince from a war or a well honored brother escorting his younger brother and bride-to-be for a formal proposal?" Kirche and Louise looked at me like I was crazy, but Katra nodded in affirmation.

"No, just no." Kirche folded her arms. "I am not going through with this."

"And we don't necessarily need you to." Shin said. "Saito and I can just go on our way simply being siblings, but if we're to get on a specialized transport for any reason, we'd need a very good one, and I'm not coming up with a different excuse."

"Mmm." Kirche pouted. "You're not really giving me an option are you?"

"Of course I am. You stay or come." Shin stated pretty much as an ultimatum.

"So, where does that leave me?" Louise asked.

"You?" Shin looked Louise over. "You're just a familiar, like Flame and Godrick here." Shin patted his griffin on the side. "If you weren't with Saito, it might cause a curious word or two."

"Oh." Louise said dejectedly, looked down. I was going to comfort her, but I could see a smile playing across her lips, so I said nothing. I looked up to Kirche, who was still sitting on her horse, chewing her lip.

"Fine." Kirche threw up her arms. "Lead the way, _brother_." Kirche took her reigns as she glared at Shin. Shin, in response, got up on Godrick and looked back at me.

"Get on your horse Saito, we're heading out."

"Right, right." I waved Shin off. "Louise, you first, I have something to say to Katra."

"All right, just don't take to long." Louise said as she hauled herself up onto the horse. I turned and walked to Katra, who was standing there expectantly looking at me. I got close enough so that none of the others would overhear us.

"You didn't need to call him. If you had doubts, you could have talked to me about it."

"And you would have blown it off." Katra rebutted. "Plus, this makes me feel safer for your sake." Katra pulled me into a hug. "Don't get yourself killed out there."

"I won't Katra." I said as I returned the hug.

"Make sure you don't." Katra sighed as she held me at arms length. "And take some time to reconnect with Shin. I know you two can do it." Katra was wearing a small, sad smile, one that I returned.

"Don't worry, we'll be just fine. And I'll try." I said as I turned and went to get on the horse.

As I got up, I grabbed the reigns and gave them a light whip to get moving. There was a time of silence, where Shin was flying above, Kirche and Flame were slightly ahead of us, and Louise was taking liberties with leaning back against me. It was at least ten minutes before Louise spoke up.

"So, do you think Germania is actually going to think that this cover story is real?"

"I honestly don't know, but we don't need them too. All we need is for the Albion spies in Tristain to think that we are actually going to engage."

"So, does that mean you're going to have to cling to her when we meet other people?" Louise looked up at me.

"Uh…" I stalled, having to think on it, looking away from her. "I don't think so? I mean, we don't need to advertise it, but if someone asks, we can say it's not meant to be public knowledge, wanting to make a grand entrance and such into Germania."

"But what if we run into a Germanian?"

"We won't, Louise. Remember, Germania and Tristain are on shaky ground at best right now. It's also one of the reason's this is going to spread rumors like wildfire."

"What? Is inter-country relationships that rare?"

"Yeah. Louise, one of the things that you have to learn about nobles is that a lot of the time marriages are arranged. I'm just lucky that my own parents aren't like that, but I don't even know about Kirche." I looked to Kirche, wondering what her family life was actually like. I knew her behavior wasn't quite the norm for her country, but there were facets of her culture I didn't know about.

"That's good." Louise sighed, looking back toward the road ahead.

I was confident with my explanation, what I wasn't so sure about was what my siblings were counting on. From what I did know about the Germanians, they were a very proud people, people of strength and fortitude. They never backed down from a fight, and they were very protective of their own. I could see those traits in Kirche from time to time, but not in the usual ways people thought, which might be one of the reasons she had been to my school. Yet, what she said in her argument made me wonder, what kind of reasons did she have to not want to be noticed?

Nearly her entire time at school had been trying to be the center of attention, but now she didn't want to. It was very confusing to me, and I turned the conundrum over in my head again and again, trying to figure it out before Louise snapped me out of it.

"Saito! Shin's been trying to get your attention for three minutes now." Louise snapped her fingers. I blinked rapidly and looked to see Shin and Kirche were both looking at me, waiting.

"S-Sorry, lost in my thoughts, what's going on?"

"We need to settle down for the night." Shin said simply, straight to the point. "And Kirche is refusing to camp."

"All right, is there a town nearby?" I asked, which made Louise groan. I looked down to ask why, but Kirche gave her answer.

"There is, and it's right down the road. But Shin here wants to avoid the town."

"Really?" I looked past Kirche to see she was indeed right. Down the road there was a small town, still bustling with activity before the sun set. "So there is, so why should we avoid the town Shin?"

Shin gave an even sigh. "If you can't tell where we are, it's amazing you've been able to stay on your horse. Look around you Saito, where do you think we are?"

I did as Shin suggested and I looked around. It seemed like any other section of the open road, but then it started to come back to me.

"Is this Lagdorian Lake?" I asked.

"Yes, yes it is." Shin nodded. "And you can see why I want us to avoid the town then, right?"

I bit my lip in thought. "I think I do, but I don't think that's really a reason…"

"Not a reason?" Shin raised his eyebrow. "How would a public celebration of your return to a town you saved _not_ be a reason to avoid the very town?"

"If a celebration is all you're afraid of, then I'm going down there and _you_ can stay up here." Kirche huffed as she whipped her reigns.

"Wait Kirche!" I called out. She pulled lightly on her reigns and looked back at me. "We shouldn't split up, no matter what."

"Please, you make it sound like I can't take care of myself." Kirche smirked.

"You haven't proven you can." Shin said passively. He didn't look at Kirche when he said it, but Kirche lost her smirk and glared at Shin.

"Look at it this way Kirche." I said to gain her attention. "If I go down there, they'll either want to throw a celebration for saving their town, ask why I'm back, or both. If Shin goes in by himself, people will ask questions on why he's there or avoid him entirely, and you would just attract _way_ to much attention, and _everyone_ would want to know why you're there."

"I see you left me out." Louise grumbled, but I chose to ignore the comment for now.

"Now you said yourself that if anyone found out why you were traveling it would cause a wildfire of gossip. Are you really going to take a possibility of a bed for that risk?"

Kirche looked down and contemplated what I said. "Fine." Kirche finally said sharply. "But I want a decent meal before I go to bed."

"Don't expect to much." Shin said as he turned Godrick to head out. "There was a diverging path not far down the road, we can camp there for the night." Shin called back to us before taking off. Kirche whipped her reigns and went off grumbling to herself. I looked down at Louise.

"Sorry to have to leave you out, but I needed a quick argument." I apologized.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Louise huffed.

"Of course you don't." I smiled as I whipped the reigns to follow after the others. A few minutes later, Kirche and I turned our rides to a path off to the left of the main road. The 'path' as Shin had put it was more of a game trail than an actual path people used. The narrowness of the path was not so pleasant for Flame in his cart, which was continuously bouncing.

Just as I was wondering where Shin had lead us, the trail opened up into a field of medium height grass, and a way in I could see a fire burning. The light was significantly diminished now, so the light of the fire was easy to follow. As we arrived, we found a wide area of the grass flattened, with Godrick resting at the edge of the circle and Shin turning a roast over the fire.

"I was begging to think you hadn't seen the path." Shin said without looking up.

"That was a game trail!" Kirche complained as she hopped off of her horse, Flame gladly jumping out to follow her. "If that hadn't been the only 'path', we would have been lost!" I was about to warn Kirche to keep quiet, but Shin stood up, making her go silent.

"There's a dinner for you and a place to rest. If there would be anything else you would require, save it for later. It's late and we're heading out early." Shin looked up at me. "Can you still be ready early?"

The question was in his normal tone, but I wanted there to be something else in it. A hint of doubt, mockery, maybe even care, but since there wasn't, I gave a sigh of irritation. "Yes, I can wake up early, and so can Louise."

"Good. I'm heading to sleep. I expect you to all be ready in the morning by five." With that, Sin walked over to Godrick, who lifted his wing, revealing a pillow, blanket, and sword at the ready. Shin lay down and Godrick covered him. I sighed again and got off the horse, landing softly in the padded grass.

"Honestly, that man." Kirche grumbled as she rummaged in her pack, pulling out a plate and silverware. "Can't let us stay in a town, gives us shoddy directions, and now expects us to serve ourselves."

"Could be worse." I said as I took out Louise's and my own dining tins. "He could be making us go through drills before and after sleeping."

"He wouldn't." Louise looked aghast. "I mean, I know militaries are strict, but that seems excessive."

"What works, works." I shrugged as I sheared off some of the meat into the tins.

"Speaking of works," Louise said as she eyed Kirche's eating utensils. "Is that really practical for what we're doing?"

"I don't see what you mean." Kirche said dismissively as she sheared off a large chunk for Flame. She tossed it to her familiar, who gladly jumped up and snatched it out of the air. "What I don't understand is how you can eat out of those." Kirche pointed at our tins with her fork.

"It's what's practical." I said simply, which gained a smirk from Kirche. "What?"

"For a second there you sounded like Shin." Kirche smiled as she took a bite of her meal.

"I'm not like Shin." I said as I stabbed the meat, which went straight through and banged against the tin. Louise and Kirche were watching me with a watchful eye, and I didn't like it, but I guess I didn't know how much hate I actually did put into that short burst. "Sorry, sorry, I just don't like being compared to my siblings."

"Understandable, I guess." Kirche said with a sigh as she began eating without interruption. Louise and I did the same, and before we knew it the meat was all gone.

"Well, that was nice I suppose." Kirche sighed as she put her silverware down. "Now, when are you putting up the tent Saito?"

"I was just about to, why?" I asked as I stood up.

"Because I want to get some beauty sleep tonight." Kirche said as she stretched.

"I don't see how that's my problem. Set up your own tent." I said dismissively as I went to the horse, which was quietly pasturing.

"I don't have one." Kirche said bluntly.

"What?" Louise and I both looked at Kirche with looks of shock.

"Why did you _not _bring a tent?" Louise asked.

"I thought we would be staying in towns the entire time. Most of my bags are money for the trip."

"I-I can't believe you." I said in utter shock. "What _exactly_ do you think we're doing? Going on a vacation? Where we would just buy things as we go visit Albion?" I threw my hands up in the air. "You know what? I don't care. The two of you can share the tent and I'll just sleep out in the open. No, actually, we need a guard anyways, so I'll do that. Just, just sit there." I sighed in aggravation as I took the tent off the horse.

Of all the air headed things she could do, she thought this was just going to be a cozy trip. I didn't even listen to any of her complaints or arguments otherwise; I just let Louise talk to her about it. When I was done, I tossed the blankets and pillows in and waved for the two that it was ready. I then went and sat at the edge of the fire, using the spit the meat had been on to poke the fire, this wasn't going to be an easy journey, and Kirche wasn't making it any more pleasant.


	36. Confessions

**A Night and Day Confession:**

I sat at the fire, rolling over the logs in it from time to time to keep the blaze going. Flame, seeing as there was no room to sleep comfortably, came over and rested next to me. I wasn't quite sure how Flame would react to me, so I let him lay where he was.

I poked the fire and sighed as I leaned on fist. Night watch was never a glamorous job, but I wasn't going to trust Kirche to do it, I wasn't going to bother Shin, and I didn't want Louise to stay up all night. It lead to an interesting dilemma for myself. If I didn't get any rest tonight, I wouldn't be fit to ride in the morning. But if I didn't stay up, the horses could easily wander off and/or be preyed upon by who knows what was in this forest. Flame could help keep look out, but he wouldn't be much use to keep the horses or alert the others.

I churned multiple scenarios and possibilities in my head to not disturb the others and still be ready in the morning. I must have dozed off at some point, because I found myself waking up to the weight of a blanket being hung over my shoulders. I panicked for a second, thinking someone was trying to kidnap me in the dark, but I only found the placid face of my brother to meet me. I sighed and shrugged the blanket off, handing it back to him.

"Thanks, but no thanks."

"Keep it and get some rest, I'll keep watch." Shin said without taking the blanket and walking to the opposite side of the fire. I wrapped the blanket around me, but I didn't go to sleep. Shin and I sat there for a solid ten minutes without a word said between us, with only the crackle of the flames to break the silence between us.

I decided to break the silence, more for feeling uncomfortable than actually wanting to talk to Shin. "So, what did Katra say to make you decide to come along?"

"She said you and your familiar were going on a suicide mission she couldn't persuade you from canceling." Shin said immediately. After a pause, he added "And it doesn't look like I'll be able to either."

"Wait, did you purposefully give misdirection's so we wouldn't be able to continue?" Shin was only quiet. "You had to have known that wasn't going to work. If we missed the path, we would have gone straight to the-" I stopped and thought. "Town. Where I would have been wrapped up and wouldn't have been able to meet Wales in time!" Shin said nothing and continued to stare into the fire. I thought I would be angrier, but all I could do was ask "Why?"

Godrick walked over to Shin and laid next to his master, who stroked his head absently as he answered me. "I don't want you to go to Albion."

"Well that's obvious, but you know I have to. Wales asked me to come, and there's no way I can just ignore him."

"Of course you can, you've ignored me for six years." The sting of his comment hit home hard, even with his monotonous tone.

"I've been where I've always been. You could have come home at any time."

"And you could have contacted me at any time as well."

"I had no reason to!"

"And you have no reason to go to Wales!" Shin snapped at me. Godrick raised his head in alarm, but Shin pet him to calm him, giving a sigh as well. "Saito, I'm trying to save you."

"But I don't need saving." I said with a cautionary glance to how close each of our swords and wands were. Actually, I hadn't seen his wand yet. "And I don't need to be saved by you."

For some reason, that single comment made Shin start to tear up. I couldn't believe Shin actually had emotion left. I think even Shin was surprised by his reaction, because as he wiped up the tear, he began a sad chuckle.

"I don't even know the last time I cried." He laughed. "I don't even know why I'm crying now." He chuckled a bit more before he stopped and asked me an abrupt question. "You hate me, don't you Saito?"

I was stunned by the question, and made me think back on my actions towards Shin. "I- I wouldn't say _hate_, but…"

"Come on Saito, neither of us have talked to the other in _six years_. If we didn't hold at least _some_ hate towards each other, why would it take us this long to talk?"

I just stared at the fire and thought. Between the time of our last sparring match and the familiar exhibition, we hadn't seen nor spoken to each other. I thought back to the day when Shin and I sparred, how he had easily beaten me, and how he didn't give up until Katra came out to stop him. Just thinking of that time made my wrists hurt from how Shin had effortlessly batted my sword away.

"Shin?" I said as I looked up to my brother.

"Yeah Saito?"

"What happened?"

"I guess we kind of stopped talking after that sparring match, I guess."

"I know that. I mean, what happened to make you do that?" Katra had asked me to reconnect with Shin, I guess now is a good time as any. Shin just stared at me, frowning.

"That was the day everything changed for me." Shin said as he looked down at Godrick. "It was the day I failed my mission, and I failed my troops."

"But, you've never failed a mission." I said, a bit confused.

"Not before, and not since. But that day was the only failure I ever needed." Shin stopped petting Godrick and folded his hands together in front of himself. "I lost my squad that day."

"Well, I'm sure one failed mission doesn't prompt a demotion-"

"No Saito, I _lost_ them, all of them. They were all slaughtered. And it was because of my overconfidence." I didn't have anything to say, and Shin didn't seem like he was going to continue, but he did. "It was my first command, a simple job, find some bandits, that was it. Bring some rogues to justice. And I screwed it up Saito, it all went to hell." Shin slammed his fist on his thigh. "All but two of us died that day."

I felt like I needed to say something to calm him down, something to let Shin know that that was in the past. It was a scar from six years ago and he needed to forget the incident. But as I saw him look up at me, I saw Shin, I saw my brother for the first time in six years. Not the commander of troops, not a stone statue, but my actual brother, and I saw that he had been holding this pain close to himself. So I sat there, patiently, for him to continue.

"I was only leading a small platoon, hell, it was barely that. We had finally pinned the thieves' main base down to a cave system near our eastern border. All we needed to do was flush them out. We had gotten into position and even had some success of grabbing a few who tried to flee just as we arrived. But it was all a trap, the location, the captures; even the intel we had was probably faulty. The next thing I know, we're in a stone valley being shot down by arrows and spears. It wasn't until a week later I was able to piece together that the base had been an illusion.

"We lost five men in the surprise. Roy, Michel, Hughes, Alphonse, and Joseph, they all fell before we could raise any sort of defense. I thought it would be fine, we would just wait for them to run out of munitions and we could charge them. But then the confusion made sense when a mage came out to help.

"He was completely in black with only a white facemask. He sent wave after wave of boulders down upon us. I tried my best to hold them back, but there was to many of them. And by the time my wind-shield failed, the thieves were on us. They slit the throats of Monty and Brian and stabbed Luke through the side. I don't remember much after that, only trying to fend them all off and seeing blood flying everywhere. Only when Godrick flew in and picked me up did I see the full carnage. And even then, the bandits were picking their corpses of their armor and weapons."

Shin went silent. Tears were freely flowing now, but Shin did nothing about them. I really wanted to say something, anything to let Shin know I was here for him, but Godrick gently nuzzled his master. Shin gave a small sigh and smile as he pet Godrick's beak. It was all that Shin seemed to need to calm down. So I sat and listened to Shin's story, it was the least, and probably the most, I could do. Shin wiped his tears away and continued.

"After Godrick got me out of there, I asked him to take me somewhere safe. I only meant for physical safety, but he brought me home. Home where you and Katra were both smiling and happy, blind to the world. I lost it, and you were the closest thing I could find to take my frustration out on. It sounds so wrong now to say, but at the time, it just felt right."

"And after that, you went back to the capital." I finally spoke. "And from then on, you worked a diligent post."

"A diligent, detached post." Shin nodded. He looked me in the eye. "You may not know, but I knew each of my platoon by name, all thirty of them. And I lost all of them."

"But, not all, right? You said two of you survived." I said this, trying to bolster Shin's spirits, but it seemed to only do the opposite.

"Yeah, the two of us, me and Wardes, the only two men who could run from the carnage." Shin said in a bitter tone.

That was all Shin needed to say to make me go quiet in thought. Wardes had been one of our family's closest friends, I knew how powerful of a mage he was, and even he couldn't help. I just sat there, thinking of what Shin had to have done to not lose himself to such guilt and pain by now, and his cold demeanor made sense now. As one act that I could take without disrupting Shin, I stood up and walked around to him and sat down.

"You're not alone Shin."

"I know I'm not Saito, but that doesn't help." Shin said, reverting back to his emotionless voice, staring into the fire. "Get some sleep, I'll wake you up before we leave."

"Sure." I nodded as I stood up to sleep next to the tent. "And Shin?" He looked up at me. "Thanks for opening up." I smiled, and as a surprise, Shin returned it.

"Only for you, Saito."

…

The next morning, if it could be called that, was a cold one. The tent was torn down and we were on our way ten minutes after Shin had woken all of us up. Kirche complained profusely about not being able to make herself decent, but Louise explained how impractical actually doing that as of now would be pointless.

Kirche simply groaned in irritation as she mounted her horse, waiting long enough for Flame to hop in his carrier before moving. Shin took off with Godrick to help point out our continuing trail. When Louise and I were ready to go, we headed out.

I would probably never admitted it out loud, but it felt nice to ride with Louise. My school cloak did a decent job of keeping the morning chill out, but having Louise up against me made me feel comfortably warm. I don't even think I would have noticed how close I was getting if Louise hadn't spoken up.

"Saito? You're squishing me a bit." Louise said as she squirmed to get some room.

"Ah, sorry. It's just a bit chilly." I said quickly before leaning back.

"I guess it would be, we are near the lake after all."

"Right, right." There was a pause of silence before Louise spoke again.

"So, how do you think you and Shin are going to act during this mission?"

"I think we'll be just fine Louise. We came to an understanding last night." I said as I looked up to see Shin and Godrick keeping a steady pace with us on the ground.

"Are you sure he's up to this mission?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, looking down at Louise, who was intently looking ahead.

"I don't think he could deal with losing you to the Albion war, that's all."

I considered what she said before forming my own point. "You were listening last night weren't you?"

"N-Not really." Louise said quickly, looking down. "I was just, kind of, awake when you two were talking, and the night was _really_ silent. I swear I've never eavesdropped before. It was just-"

"To easy to. I get it." I sighed, looking back up. "But I think you're right, I don't think Shin could deal with losing me." I then looked ahead to see Flame looking back at us. "Was Kirche up?"

"Not that I could tell. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't be able to stay still if she heard." There was a brief pause. "So, what are you going to do? To not die?"

"It's simple Louise, we make this trip as quickly as possible. We make sure that we don't put ourselves in a compromising position."

"That's easy to say, but we can't control everything around us." Louise looked up. "We've both seen what that does to someone." I kept my eyes forward, but I glanced down to see how Louise looked. There was a look of pity in her eyes, and it was understandable, but I don't think that's what Shin wanted or needed.

"Well, keep this information to yourself Louise. I'm sure Shin doesn't need the entire kingdom knowing."

"Right, right." Louise said quietly as she looked forward again. "But you know, it makes me wonder."

"About what?"

"What my own family is doing right now." I sucked in my breath, waiting for a torrent of accusations and cries of despair to come, but instead, Louise was laughing. "This'll sound ridiculous to you, but I don't even think anyone will notice."

"How can you say that?" I looked down in confusion. "I'm sure they miss you."

"How can you be certain? For all I know, I've been gone for ten minutes back home. That's how it's usually explained."

"How what is explained?" I asked, completely confused on how Louise could be taking this so well.

"Fantasy and science fiction usually explain fantastic journeys like this with some sort of time displacement. I think the only one who _would_ notice is Éléonore, wanting to know where I am at all times." Louise continued to chuckle as I began to ponder.

Louise thinking of going home had been one of my greatest wishes and worst nightmares. On one hand, I couldn't start to think to live without Louise now, but on the other, I felt obligated to return her to her rightful place. She had her own goals in life, her own dreams, and I had taken those from her. But here she was, addressing that issue right in front of me, and laughing it off like it was nothing. It both comforted and disturbed me at the same time.

"Besides, Éléonore never did approve of you." Louise nearly whispered.

"What?" I asked, snapping to attention.

"What?" Louise looked up at me, startled. "Did something happen?"

"You said something about your sister."

"Yes, she always did want to know where I was." Louise repeated.

"No, after that."

"I didn't say anything after that." Louise looked at me confused. "I think this forest is a bit to quiet Saito, you're beginning to hear things."

"Maybe you're right Louise." I said, but in reality I knew I had heard her talk. "Say, Louise."

"Yeah Saito?"

"Have you ever heard of anyone having split personalities before?"

There was a brief pause before Louise answered. "I have, but I've never known anyone who has had it before. Why?"

"Well," I looked for a reason that wouldn't implicate her. I looked up and saw Shin. "What do you think would happen to Shin if I did die?"

"Saito! That's not a question to ask!" Louise looked back at me in shock.

"But look what death has done to him before. I'm concerned, that's all."

"Do you plan on dyeing then?"

"No! No, I'm only thinking."

"Then stop thinking like that. It's no way to think about family."

_You're on to talk _I thought as we continued on in silence. One thing was clear to me though, Louise wasn't aware she had multiple personalities, or she had selective memory loss. The one thing that bothered me though was what I could have done to Louise to make her have such a condition. I thought endlessly about what we've done since she got here.

We confronted Mott, she gained magical powers, she met royalty, she went undercover for said royalty, she was involved in a love potion incident, she had been trained to fight with a sword, and now we were heading into a war zone. Thinking back on all of it, any combination of those events could lead to wanting to escape the body. As I pondered what this could mean for both Louise and I, I failed to notice the thinning of the trees and accumulation of dust. Only with an involuntary cough did I see that the trail was beginning to widen into an actual road.

I steered out from behind Kirche and rode up beside her. I didn't say anything to her, but just from looking at her, Kirche seemed to be handling herself quite well. Usually prolonged rides would wear on their riders, and knowing Kirche, she would complain, loudly. Though with Shin in shouting range, she probably didn't dare.

None of had to yell, however, when Shin came down in front of us. Both of us stopped and waited for Shin's explanation for coming down.

"The only way any of us are getting to Albion is via airship through La Rochelle. It's one of the few port cities to still run to Albion." Kirche rolled her eyes ads though this was the most obvious of things. "One of the things to _beware_ of on the way to La Rochelle is it's rocky terrain." Shin said, casually glaring at Kirche. "There have been many reports of highwaymen near the city. We're taking one of the less traveled paths, so it should be _less_ likely to be attacked, but _not_ impossible. So be ready for anything, at any time." Without a word of response, Shin took off to the sky, making all four of us cough from the sudden dust cloud.

"Could he be any _more_ cryptic?" Kirche sighed as she continued on the road.

"Don't like the mysterious type Kirche?" I jibbed.

"Only when the mystery doesn't stake my life." Kirche replied curtly. "And even then, the surprises aren't all that encouraging."

"Oh, like what?" Louise asked. "Wasn't Flame a nice surprise?"

"Oh he was an _excellent_ surprise." Kirche looked back and smiled at the salamander. "A not so pleasant one was being told I was married."

"Come on, I'm not _that_ bad of a pick." I said defensively.

"No, not you Saito, my husband Sigbert."


End file.
